Chapter 406: On the Road Out of Xuzhou

Within the prefectural city it was like this, and the villagers around He Family Village were also living cheerfully. Though they had never witnessed refugees besieging a city, they had all benefited from Zhao Jin this past year — the peddlers and merchants earned far greater profits than in previous years, and ordinary households also made a good deal of money from their labor. Moreover, because of the grain-tax reductions and exemptions, their area was entirely exempt, so even the poorest families had more to spare than in years past.

Everyone was so busy that they had no time to care about how the Zhao Character Camp was doing. The one thing they praised was the Camp's decency — whether it was the bereaved families of household troopers who had died, or the wounded troopers disabled and living at home, the Zhao Character Camp had not forgotten them. This time they had all been specially sent New Year's rewards and gifts. In truth, with the pensions and subsidies the Zhao Character Camp distributed every month, they could already have a perfectly good New Year.

The Zhao Character Camp made a small detour, only beginning to travel east along the main official road after passing Xuzhou city. Each man had three or four horses, linked together using the method of the Mongol hired hands at the mule-and-cart shop. Besides the horse they rode, two more carried dry rations and equipment, and there was another for rotation.

Everyone wore leather or padded jackets and wide-brimmed felt hats that covered their faces. From the outside, they looked no different from traveling merchants, except that at this time of year everyone was heading home for the New Year and very few people were on the road, which made them look a bit strange.

Strange as it was, no one paid them much attention, because the whole road was desolate and deserted — there was hardly anyone at all. On top of that, it had snowed just a few days before, the weather was growing ever colder, and the road was even more empty.

If secrecy was the goal, they should not have stopped within Xuzhou's borders, but just before leaving, everyone still paused for a moment.

By the roadside there were rolling hills and earthen mounds. Though the trees had shed all their leaves, one could see that the wooded slopes on both sides of the official road were very dense. Between the trees was nothing but snow, with only the tracks of some small animals visible — not a single human footprint to be seen. People had certainly walked the official road itself, yet the ground on either side was like this. It was truly peculiar.

Zhao Jin and his companions halted their horses on the official road, while the others continued onward. No one said there was any danger here, because this was Zhao Jin's order.

"... I heard that the common folk around Gao Family Village don't dare come here. They say there are ghosts here at night..." Liu Yong murmured quietly.

Zhao Jin, who had dismounted, did not laugh. He simply walked toward one side of the road. When he was nearly at the tree line, he stopped, looked back, and said, "This is where I fell back then, and then Dalei stood in front of me."

Everyone was silent. Though not much time had passed since that battle, they all felt as if many years had gone by. Now, revisiting this old place, the scenes of that day surfaced before their eyes, and they were all filled with boundless emotion.

They looked at the ground beneath Zhao Jin's feet, then turned their gaze to the other side of the road. That day, the enemy had come charging out shouting, and they had only been fleeing...

Zhao Jin crouched down and brushed the snow aside. Beneath it was withered grass — naturally, no trace of that day remained. Chen Sheng looked up at the sky. Ji Xiang kept sniffing. Liu Yong's eyes were red-rimmed. And Dong Bingfeng had already started crying, constantly wiping his tears away with his hand.

"We have to keep moving forward, make the Zhao Character Camp's power greater and greater. Only then will Dalei's spirit in heaven be able to rest in peace — only then will we have given him a proper answer!" Zhao Jin said in a rough voice, his own breathing somewhat uneven.

Everyone nodded in silence. Zhao Jin patted the ground with his hand, rose, and walked toward his mount. The others followed. Dong Bingfeng looked back several times before catching up.

Just before mounting his horse, Zhao Jin spoke again: "We must never let something like what happened to Dalei happen again. Not a single one of us can be lost."

Although Zhao Jin's sphere of influence was mainly the prefectural city of Xuzhou and its western regions, this Gao Family Village at the eastern end of Xuzhou was his property. The villagers who had originally lived there had been relocated, and the residents of two Cloud Mountain Temple estate villages to the west had been moved over, freeing up that area for the Zhao Character Camp to settle refugees.

Because outsiders had come here and no one knew their backgrounds, a detachment of Zhao Jin's Internal Guard was stationed at Gao Family Village. The detachment, however, had only six men and was not fully equipped in any respect.

After Zhao Jin and his companions mounted up, they caught up with the party ahead. By the time they passed Gao Family Village, it was already afternoon. During the twelfth month, everyone was busy at home or out visiting relatives, so no one really noticed this group passing through.

They had not gone far when a man dressed like a villager came walking toward them. Seeing so many people, the man stepped aside to the edge of the road. As Zhao Jin and the others passed, the man shouted out: "Safe travels."

This sudden shout startled everyone. Qi San, who was leading the way up front, cursed with a laugh, fished out a dozen or so copper coins, and tossed them over. The man grinned as he scooped them up and left.

"A rule of the road. When passing through villages and towns, if someone shouts this, you give them a bit of silver or coin — it's a way of smoothing things over. The bigger the party, the less you can afford to be careless about it," explained a mounted man beside Zhao Jin.

Zhao Jin nodded. After riding on a stretch, he turned his head and quietly asked Liu Yong, "One of ours?"

"The road ahead is clear. No ambushes or interceptors," Liu Yong replied, equally quietly.

Very few had noticed, but that man had made an odd hand gesture. Zhao Jin had noticed.

By that reasoning, the phrase "Safe travels" was more than just a well-wish. Having already suffered a major loss once that year, they naturally would not be careless this time. Openly, Zhao Jin had arranged for traveling merchants to scout ahead; covertly, quite a few Internal Guard men had been sent out.

But neither the traveling merchants nor the Internal Guard men knew why they were scouting. They were simply given passive orders to do a certain thing at a certain place.

The man who had shouted did not know that the party was led by Zhao Jin. He only knew that after checking the road ahead, he was to shout that phrase when he encountered this party.

At dusk they passed Fang Village Market. As the name implied, it was much like He Family Village — a gathering place for peddlers and merchants. Though it was nearly dark, one could still see the local common folk coming and going; the hubbub of voices was lively and bustling.

"Master, it's the twelfth month now. Plenty of common folk come here to buy New Year's goods. Even some goods from inside Xuzhou city have to be purchased here. And besides that, for dozens of li around, if you want to gamble or find a woman, Fang Village Market is the only place that has them." An old hand of the jianghu from the Internal Guard, well-versed in the local terrain, rode beside Zhao Jin and explained as they went.

Zhao Jin nodded and said, "This place is under Jiang Mutou's control, right?"

"Right, Carpenter Jiang manages it. He's even been to He Family Village to pay his respects to you, Master."

"Let's not stop at this Fang Village Market. A horse column this large passing through at this time of year will definitely draw attention, and then this Jiang Mutou will feel obliged to come over and pay a visit," Zhao Jin said.

No one had any objections. Though it was bitterly cold, they were all dressed warmly and riding on horseback was hardly tiring. In the present circumstances, safety was certainly the top priority.

As they passed Fang Village Market, sure enough, several sturdy men emerged from within, watching Zhao Jin's party with considerable tension. Seeing that the party had no intention of entering, they even came forward to politely inquire whether Fang Village Market could provide food and water. Zhao Jin's party naturally declined.

After they had passed, Zhao Jin thought again of the man who had shouted "Safe travels." Seeing a party with so many men and horses, the wariness shown by Fang Village Market was the normal reaction. To a discerning eye, that man's behavior had seemed very strange.

The winter night was actually somewhat easier to travel through than a summer one, because the snow reflected the light of the stars and moon, making it much brighter. And with men familiar with the roads leading the way ahead carrying lanterns and torches, their speed did not slow too much.

About one and a half two-hour periods after nightfall, Zhao Jin and the others reached Shuanggou. Looking at Shuanggou's dark, shadowy outline, one could tell it was considerably larger than Fang Village Market. Yet Shuanggou Town was nowhere near as prosperous as Fang Village Market; otherwise, at this hour it would have been brightly lit and full of merry voices, not deathly still like this.

Qi San and two others had already spurred their horses ahead at speed to arrange lodging in Shuanggou Town. Even if it was deathly still, it still had the capacity to receive traveling merchants.

This time, before Zhao Jin could even ask, the old jianghu hand who had been serving as their guide all along smiled wryly and said, "Shuanggou Town used to be a hundred times more prosperous than Fang Village Market. Shuanggou produces fine liquor, distributed everywhere by water routes. Once our fine liquor came out, theirs stopped selling."

Zhao Jin coughed twice. The name "Shuanggou Daqu" suddenly came to mind, but he also noticed something amiss and pressed further: "Even without the distillery, Shuanggou sits at the junction of three prefectures — Xuzhou, Huai'an, and Fengyang. First, it's a place no one governs; second, merchants come and go in droves, and it's very close to the Yellow River. How could a place like this become so desolate and decayed?"

By the glow of the lantern light, Zhao Jin saw the wry smile on the old jianghu hand's face deepen, even tinged with some embarrassment. At his moment of hesitation, Chen Sheng and the others nearby also turned their attention over.

"Well... ever since Master Jin put down the bandits, a rumor has been going around here. It says that Master Jin makes liquor, and Shuanggou Town here was courting death by stealing his business, so Master Jin was going to bring his men and flatten this place. Once that word got out, everyone who could run, ran."

At these words, Ji Xiang couldn't help but laugh. He let out a chuckle, then hurriedly coughed to cover it. Zhao Jin also found it both funny and frustrating.

Shuanggou Town had no defensive wall or stockade. According to the guide, back when it was flourishing and prosperous, several major powers had extended their protection, and no bandit gang dared to touch it. Now that it had declined, there was little profit to be had. Moreover, being right on Xuzhou's border, everyone knew Zhao Jin's rules were strict, so they simply couldn't be bothered to make a move.

During the twelfth month, traveling merchants were naturally scarce. The sudden arrival of these several dozen men and over two hundred horses was a huge deal — it would make their whole New Year considerably better. The innkeeper served them with zealous hospitality, and because his own staff was insufficient, he even borrowed hands from elsewhere. After bustling about for the better part of a two-hour period, they finally had everything settled for both men and horses.

Zhao Jin's side was very generous, paying all the expenses in advance. They were not out to save money; they just wanted to rest well. This made the innkeeper serve them with even greater diligence.

When traveling a long distance, the rule is: don't wash your face, but do wash your feet. Not washing the face is to prevent it from being washed too clean and then chapping in the wind. Washing the feet is to relieve fatigue and allow for better rest.

When Zhao Jin and his companions were soaking their feet, they all gathered in one room. Besides exchanging a few idle words, they summed up the day's events and discussed the next day's plans — they always needed to touch base.

"Was the rumor in Shuanggou Town spread by Jiang Mutou?" Zhao Jin suddenly asked.