Chapter 393: Buying Land

Watching the wounded man being carried out, the room fell into silence. After a quiet moment, Zhao Jin turned to Zhong Gonghui and said, "I'll assign you a dozen or so guards. You'll disguise yourself as a merchant hauling goods and head back to Fengyang Prefecture right now. Find out exactly what happened and come back once you've got clear information. Don't worry too much — what I promised you, I will do."

"Bingfeng, pick some good men from your cavalry unit to go with him. Xiaoyong, assign a few men as well." Zhao Jin gave the order, and both sides acknowledged it.

For matters of disguise and intelligence-gathering like this, Liu Yong would arrange all the details. Zhong Gonghui had originally wanted to stay on his knees here, begging and kowtowing, but now that the situation had shifted, he tactfully took his leave.

Mentioning the cavalry unit made Zhao Jin think of Qi San. He turned his head and asked, "How is Qi San doing now?"

"Big Brother, Qi San is only managing the cavalry unit's internal affairs for now, but he's been doing it diligently and meticulously. Everyone's been praising him," Dong Bingfeng replied.

"His two older brothers won't leave the city for now, but the three brothers must have talked it over. Each of them is keeping very composed — chatting and laughing as usual day to day," Liu Yong quickly added.

After a few words were exchanged, they noticed Zhao Jin suddenly fall silent. The several people in the room glanced at one another and all quieted down as well. The situation before them was indeed very troublesome. Although fewer than a few thousand had arrived so far, the number coming next was over fifty thousand, up to sixty thousand. The supplies and silver so many people would consume had already shaken the very foundation of the Zhao Camp, not to mention that this matter itself touched on taboos. And what they now faced was that Xuzhou simply could not hold any more.

Chen Sheng, Wang Zhaojing, Ji Xiang, Shi Manqiang, Dong Bingfeng, and Liu Yong had all grown up together with Zhao Jin. Cao Ruhui and Zhou Xuezhi were also Xuzhou natives. Even though their insight far exceeded that of their peers, they were still ultimately confined to Xuzhou. The fact that even Xuzhou could not hold any more weighed tremendously on everyone.

They looked at one another, exchanged glances, and then all turned their eyes to Zhao Jin. Zhao Jin would surely come up with an idea. Whenever they faced a dilemma, everyone always thought this way.

"Summon Qi San here," Zhao Jin suddenly spoke.

Someone immediately shouted to pass the order outside. The household guard on duty sprinted off. Zhao Jin said in a deep voice, "We must get these people into our hands. We don't know whether next year, the year after, or the years beyond will be famine years, or whether there will be this many people for us to recruit again. So we must have these people."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Now that the decision was made, the only thing left was how to carry it out.

"We were mistaken before. We thought recruiting refugees in Fengyang Prefecture had to be done in secret, or it would mean big trouble. Now that approach needs to change. Mister Cao, do you have connections over in Fengyang Prefecture?" Zhao Jin asked.

Cloud Mountain Temple had wide-ranging connections, not to mention that it had once been under the protection of the Fengyang Garrison Eunuch, so naturally it had ties there. Ruhui nodded in acknowledgment. Zhao Jin continued, "Take silver and go to Fengyang Prefecture to buy land. The fields and barren hills north of Fuli Bridge — just spend the money and buy them up. When a local landowner in Fengyang Prefecture recruits refugees, who would dare say it's wrong?"

Everyone paused for a moment, then smiles spread across their faces. Fengyang Prefecture bordered Xuzhou. Set up a large estate on the adjacent land, gather the refugees, then directly move them out. It would be their own estate for their own use — no one could find any fault with that.

Ruhui's face was full of smiles as he nodded repeatedly and said, "A brilliant plan, Master. I will go make the arrangements at once."

Just as this was settled, Qi San had already been brought in from outside. After that time he had tearfully pleaded for Zhao Jin to avenge him but got no result, the Qi brothers had likely realized their own recklessness. In their speech and manner, they had returned to the cautious prudence they'd shown when they first met.

As soon as he entered, he offered greetings. Zhao Jin got straight to the point and asked, "You said you came from the Grass Nest in Huai'an Prefecture. Are you familiar with that area?"

Qi San was still a bit dazed and nodded instinctively, answering, "This humble one spent over ten years there. I'm very familiar with the area."

When these two questions were asked, Shi Manqiang still didn't understand, and Ji Xiang looked thoughtful, while Chen Sheng, Wang Zhaojing, Liu Yong, and Ruhui all turned to look at Zhao Jin with expressions of utter disbelief. Zhou Xuezhi paused for a moment, then raised his head as well.

"From our Xuzhou to that Grass Nest where people can hide — how many days' journey is it? Is it convenient to travel?" Zhao Jin continued asking.

Qi San paused briefly, then answered, "It's convenient. Follow the Yellow River all the way. There aren't really any cities or towns along either side, and few large market towns either. In another ten-some days, the Yellow River will freeze over, and the Grand Canal will freeze over too. At least half of Luoma Lake will be frozen solid. Crossing rivers and lakes will all be very easy. Once you enter the Grass Nest, you can go any way you like."

"Big Brother, in a few more days it will be freezing cold. Going into that desolate, uninhabited wild grassland, I'm afraid there won't even be a place to stay. Going there is a death sentence," Wang Zhaojing said worriedly.

Zhao Jin's face showed no particular expression. He merely said calmly, "The world is so vast, yet I am the only one giving them a place to shelter. They ought to be satisfied. In Fengyang Prefecture, they face certain death. There, they might still have a sliver of hope."

He did not avoid saying these things in front of Qi San below. Qi San had been listening in confusion at first, but at this point he started. Whether he understood or not was unclear, but he hurriedly spoke up, "Master, it's actually not that there's no way to get food. Before trouble broke out in the Grass Nest, many disaster victims fled there in autumn and winter. They worked for the large households over in Pizhou. Around Luoma Lake in winter, there are also plenty of repair and labor jobs that need hands. And the dry grass and other products from the Grass Nest can all be taken to Pizhou to trade for grain..."

"What kind of grain is available there?"

"There are quite a few tribute grain warehouses over there. A lot of people get the grain out in the summer and sell it in the winter when things are slow," Qi San said with the ease of familiarity.

Zhao Jin nodded slowly and said, "The tribute grain used to trade for wine is probably from the same source. That means it's not an absolute dead end over there — at least some people can survive."

Qi San had figured it out by now. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and said earnestly, "Master, this humble one knows that area very well. In that vast wild grassland, only places with rivers and water can sustain life. You also need convenient overland and water routes, or else people can get in but not out, and the same goes for goods. This humble one is willing to go there and guide the way."

"There will be a time when you're needed. Don't speak of what was said today to anyone outside. You may leave now," Zhao Jin said.

Qi San hastily kowtowed once in acknowledgment, then rose to his feet and left the room, his face full of excitement.

"He's clever enough. He figured out that if we go to the Grass Nest in Huai'an Prefecture, we'll inevitably clash with the Feng family, and then he'll have hope for his revenge and everything else," Zhao Jin remarked with a teasing smile.

Wang Zhaojing's face showed a worried expression. He solemnly cautioned, "Big Brother, the Feng family is powerful. We're already in some trouble over recruiting refugees — and now we'd clash with them over there as well?"

"Xuzhou is too small. We're feeling constrained in many things we do now. We must expand outward. Right now, we can only go to Huai'an Prefecture and Fengyang Prefecture, so conflict is inevitable. However, they can't operate openly in the Grass Nest either. We won't come out on the losing end!"

By late in the tenth month, the Zhao Camp was ceaselessly busy. Groups of refugees, sometimes several hundred at a time, kept arriving in Xuzhou in a steady trickle. Some were simply settled near the Zhao Camp, while others went directly to those designated shelter sites.

Because the porridge sheds had been set up long ago, no one found the arrival of these refugees strange. On the contrary, everyone took it as a matter of course.

Ruhui took several dozen men and went to Fengyang Prefecture. Both Xuzhou and Fengyang Prefecture were places where Buddhism flourished, so the name of Cloud Mountain Temple carried considerable weight over in Suzhou as well. Suzhou was different from Xuzhou — its fields were relatively fertile and level, with multiple rivers flowing through, making irrigation very easy.

However, Suzhou was not much wealthier than Xuzhou. Suzhou was the northern gateway to the Central Capital, Fengyang. The Central Capital was where the Great Ming imperial tombs were located, and it was also the place where offending imperial clan members were confined. It could be called the most critical place under heaven. Fengyang Prefecture was garrisoned with large armies, and there were vast numbers of personnel maintaining the imperial tombs. The staff guarding the imperial clansmen were also quite numerous. The upkeep for all these people largely had to be supplied by Fengyang itself — which was why the territory of Fengyang Prefecture was drawn so enormously large.

Supporting so many people meant that taxes and corvée labor were heavier than in other prefectures and counties. Although the official figures appeared normal, the actual surcharges and meltage fees were far more burdensome than elsewhere.

There were also some peculiar reasons. By all logic, since Fengyang produced the Great Ming's founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, and most of those founding meritorious officials were also men of Huaixi, this place should have been a blessed land. Yet in reality, it was not. Ever since the Great Ming's founding, Fengyang Prefecture had been plagued by disaster after disaster — floods, droughts, locust plagues, and even several major pestilences.

Heavy taxes and corvée, combined with frequent natural disasters, sent the common people fleeing in droves. Moreover, the nearly hundred major and minor calamities over the past few decades had made the people even feel a sense of dread. Many rumors circulated in private, many of them connected to the Zhu imperial family. These rumors about the imperial house were naturally strictly forbidden. Anyone caught was subjected to property confiscation and family extermination, which in turn caused the people's livelihoods to wither further.

However, since the Hongzhi reign, Fengyang Prefecture had improved somewhat. Although disasters still struck more frequently than elsewhere, it was already an improvement, and the people's livelihoods were slowly recovering. But after the twentieth year of the Wanli reign, turmoil began again.

The region's vitality was severely damaged. The common people fled in droves. Even the Fengyang Governor, who concurrently held the post of Grand Canal Transport Commander, moved his official residence over to Taizhou.

Not to mention that this year there was yet another great disaster. Despite the fertile, level land, despite the river water for irrigation, hardly a trace of human habitation could be seen. The fields were overgrown with wild grass. Yet anyone who understood farming could tell that with diligent cultivation, land and conditions like these would surely yield a good harvest. But now, everywhere in Fengyang Prefecture was full of such fine farmland — and it was utterly worthless.

Vast amounts of farmland had already been concentrated in the hands of a dozen or so large households in Suzhou. Yet when Ruhui offered a price twenty percent above the market rate, he still bought a very large tract of land. When large sums of ready silver were laid down, no one could remain unmoved. People even came from neighboring prefectures and counties to ask whether Ruhui still needed more farmland.