Chapter 402: Sun Jia's Startling Words

Sun Jia continued, "I also asked around about those martial schools he went to. They're all run by unreliable sorts—you can't learn anything real there. Yutou Town is a mixed place, people from all corners of the land, plenty on water and plenty on land. And this Dalin is a restless one. If he falls in with the wrong crowd, wouldn't that be a disaster? So I wanted to find a place I could trust. You brothers, Xiaojin, do things properly, your hearts are in the right place, and you have real skill. Sending him to you is the best choice. Xiaojin, what do you think?"

With the matter put this way, Zhao Jin naturally had no choice but to agree. He smiled and nodded, saying, "Since Uncle Sun trusts us, then let Dalin come to my side. His build is similar to Dasheng's, so he can follow Dasheng in learning martial techniques, and then work at my side. I'll personally keep an eye on him—absolutely nothing will go wrong."

Sun Jia nodded repeatedly, saying profusely, "This is good, this is good. With you all, I can rest easy. I'm not afraid to tell you, when this child Dalin started learning martial arts, he looked too much like his older brother Dalei. It pained me to see it, and his mother always cries when she sees him too. Sending him to a place we can trust will bring some peace to our hearts as well."

The room fell quiet. Sun Jia's eager delivery of Sun Dalin was certainly, in part, a consideration to draw the two sides closer—Zhao Jin could naturally think of that layer as well. But what Sun Jia said next was also the truth; parents would indeed have many old memories stirred up.

Seeing Zhao Jin agree so crisply and decisively, Sun Jia, after a few sentimental words, became very happy. He rambled on, exhorting Sun Dalin to be obedient, telling Zhao Jin to discipline him however he saw fit, that they were all family and not to hold back out of politeness. Zhao Jin agreed to everything with a smile.

Sun Dalin, on the other hand, was full of excitement, looking very much like he was itching to give it a try. This kind of behavior was what made people see how he differed from Sun Dalei. If it had been Sun Dalei facing this, nine times out of ten he would have first put on an act of being unable to part from his parents. But thinking of that only brought heartache.

After this talk, Sun Jia arranged for Sun Dalin to go to another room. As soon as he left, Zhao Jin came straight to the point: "Uncle Sun, this year I need to settle at least five thousand refugees in Huai'an Prefecture, in the Grass Hollow wasteland between Luoma Lake and Haizhou City. The supplies they need will certainly have to be procured and transshipped around Yutou Town. When the time comes, I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Sun, to help on your end!"

Hearing this, Sun Jia was first stunned, then asked in astonishment, "It's been less than two months, and you've already recruited this many refugees? It must be at least fifty thousand by now, right?"

They were all family here, with nothing to hide from one another, and the letters had mentioned this number. Zhao Jin smiled wryly and shook his head. "Fewer and fewer are coming now. In total, it's only around twenty-six thousand, give or take. No more than that."

At this, Sun Jia was even more confused. He frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "If it's that many people, with the territory you control, Xiaojin, it should be more than enough to settle them, right?"

The Sun Family Trading Company was, in a sense, the Zhao Camp's agent outside of Xuzhou, and it understood everything about the Zhao Camp very clearly. Sun Jia, having been in business for many years, could easily calculate a figure.

Zhao Jin nodded and replied affirmatively, "We could indeed settle them. Our original estimate was too small; on closer calculation, we could even take in thirty thousand. But placing five thousand people in Huai'an Prefecture isn't just for settlement. That stretch of Grass Hollow wasteland is practically no-man's-land. I want to seize it first!"

Sun Jia's body jolted. Then, with some worry, he said, "They say the Grass Hollow is no-man's-land, but it's a place of tangled dragons and snakes, full of trouble. If you go in there, disputes will certainly be many."

"Uncle Sun, you needn't worry about that. The Zhao Camp does not fear disputes," Zhao Jin said with a smile, offering a word of reassurance.

Sun Jia laughed too. After laughing, he said, "If it's supplies and grain for these five thousand people, there's nothing more to say. I'll handle the arrangements on my end first, and when the time comes, I'll send over an accounting, and the matter will be settled. Everything else is very simple."

"But this is five thousand people! Can so many goods really be handled just by one Yutou Town? The first month of the year is almost here!" Ji Xiang couldn't help but ask.

At this, a hint of pride couldn't help but show on Sun Jia's face. He smiled and explained, "Don't look down on Yutou Town. Nowadays, there are three bustling places north of the Yangtze: the first is Yangzhou, the second is Qingjiangpu, and the third is Yutou Town. Both Qingjiangpu and Yutou Town are canal transport hubs. Who knows how many goods are transshipped and pass through? Not to mention the water and land routes, just speaking of the ox and horse carts hauling goods—around Yutou Town there are far more than a thousand. Most of them are waiting out the New Year now. As long as the price is right, they can be mobilized immediately. As for grain and supplies, every merchant house has who knows how much stored up, all waiting to be exchanged for silver. As long as you have silver, you can buy anything."

"Uncle Sun, our gathering of refugees isn't just for this year. Looking at the situation, when the spring hunger comes next year, there will be another wave of disaster victims fleeing famine. We'll need to settle them there as well. Five thousand people can be supplied locally, but what if there are even more?" This time, the questioner was Wang Zhaojing.

Sun Jia paused for a moment, then smiled and offered a word of praise: "You all are truly kind-hearted and benevolent."

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces in the room. Zhao Jin knew that Sun Jia could think of those sensitive implications, but he pretended not to know. Merchants chase profit and just focus on making money. Even though the Sun Family Trading Company was in Yutou Town, Pizhou, it had long since become an inseparable part of the Zhao Camp. Without Xuzhou's liquor, the Sun Family Trading Company would be nothing. Without the Zhao Camp's protection, the Sun family could be swallowed up and devoured at any moment.

Since they were bound together, why look ahead and behind? Just put your heart and effort into doing the work. On this point, they were indeed clearer-minded than the scholars.

After this praise, Sun Jia sank into contemplation. Wang Zhaojing and Zhao Jin exchanged a glance. Since they had resolved to develop a population firmly under their own control, gathering refugees—gathering more refugees—had become an absolute necessity.

Though the world is vast, all of it is the King's land. Some matters can be done ambiguously, but once they go too far, even if the officials wanted to turn a blind eye, they couldn't. Settling refugees up to a certain number is a good deed, and one will be commended and honored. Beyond a certain number, it becomes a calamity, seen as harboring sinister intentions, and will invite disaster. Even with every possible cover-up, with so many people placed there, it will always draw suspicion.

If it were in a border region, it might be different—far from the emperor, no one pays much attention. But Xuzhou is in South Zhili, and South Zhili is the very heart of the realm. Zhao Jin was already walking a tightrope. Relying on the many lands he controlled and having Cloud Mountain Temple step forward as a front, he was barely managing to avoid notice. But if there were more, if this continued to develop, everyone could imagine the result.

Though it was the heart of the realm, the neighboring Huai'an Prefecture had a vast stretch of Grass Hollow wasteland, an area roughly the size of Xuzhou. There were no prefectural or county cities, only an endless expanse of reeds and wild grass.

These wild grasses were fuel for boiling salt. To guarantee the production of Huai salt, to guarantee the core of the Great Ming's tax revenue, the imperial court strictly forbade reclaiming this Grass Hollow wasteland for farming, nor did it allow commoners to enter.

Boundless and vast, its immense area could accommodate a sufficient population. Utterly uninhabited—or rather, having no officially recognized population—this could gloss over far too many things. At the very least, it wouldn't be discovered so quickly.

Moreover, Zhao Jin was in Xuzhou, while this Grass Hollow wasteland was in Huai'an Prefecture. Refugees moving there on their own to reclaim land and survive, gathering spontaneously—who could say it had anything to do with Zhao Jin in Xuzhou?

With all these reasons combined, that vast stretch of wasteland in Huai'an Prefecture became the optimal choice. Around Xuzhou, only that place seemed like a land beyond the world. In fact, Fengyang Prefecture also had large tracts of wasteland, but that was the location of the Great Ming's Central Capital, garrisoned with heavy troops, and far too sensitive. Moreover, while there was much wasteland there, there were also no shortage of ennobled nobles and powerful magnates—they were the masters of these wastelands and naturally kept a very close watch.

Even though they hadn't recruited the projected number of refugees, even though Xuzhou alone could currently accommodate them all, they had to plan for the future.

Among those connected to the Zhao Camp, the Sun Family Trading Company was the closest to the Grass Hollow, and being a trading company, buying, selling, and trade were all part of its business. Naturally, it would have to take the lead in procuring supplies and arranging the general plan. This visit was to design all of this in advance.

When Wang Zhaojing spoke, he was very solemn. After speaking, he still glanced at Zhao Jin. He felt his elder brother was being a bit too impatient. Many things could be done gradually. None of them were even twenty yet; many things could wait and be observed. Perhaps doing them later would be easier, or perhaps better options would arise.

However, if Zhao Jin said to do it, the brothers would all follow. When Wang Zhaojing stated his piece, he didn't show any sign of dissent, nor had he shared his views with the others. But Wang Zhaojing always felt that Chen Sheng and Liu Yong probably shared his own thoughts. Why the rush?

In fact, even Zhao Jin's current approach, upon careful thought, seemed wrong to Wang Zhaojing—even absurd. But following along, doing it together, had become a habit. Sometimes Wang Zhaojing himself felt troubled and tried hard not to think too much.

From their meeting outside the door to being in the room, although Sun Jia had done everything an elder should, if one observed carefully, they would find Sun Jia was very constrained and nervous. His meeting with Zhao Jin and the others was not like an uncle seeing his nephews, but rather somewhat like a manager meeting the boss.

But in the midst of his contemplation, a smile appeared on Sun Jia's face. His expression and demeanor gradually grew confident. There were many in the room with sharp eyes and careful minds, and this change was naturally noticed. They exchanged glances, all feeling somewhat surprised.

"Xiaojin, actually, there's no worry about grain. As long as you pay in ready silver, the price can even be a bit cheaper than the market rate," Sun Jia said in a deep voice, ending his silence.

Zhao Jin and his companions were all stunned, then exchanged glances. They had thought he was going to say that with enough silver, grain wouldn't be a problem. They hadn't expected him to say he could buy it even cheaper than the market price. Tens of thousands of refugees needed to eat—where could there be so much grain cheaper than the market price? Where in the world was there such a good deal?

Wang Zhaojing coughed and said, "Uncle Sun, actually, selling grain is just to cope for a time. If we can gain a foothold in the Grass Hollow, reclaim land and farm, and have a harvest the second year, we won't need so much grain anymore. By current calculations, it's only about five to ten thousand people's worth each year."

The meaning of his words was to give the other party a rough figure. Sun Jia's words had been spoken too absolutely, sounding far too unreliable.

"What is five thousand to ten thousand? Even fifty thousand a year, or a hundred thousand a year—that amount of grain is still available." Sun Jia's next words were even more startling.