Chapter 429: All Family Here

Hearing this, Sun Jia only laughed and made no move, simply saying to Zhao Jin, "When the Sun Family Trading Company's goods pass through Pizhou, Guard Huang has given us plenty of convenience. The two of us also get along well — we're good friends."

This introduction caught Guard Huang over on the other side off guard. He looked ready to wheel his horse around, but after hesitating, he called out, "Old Sun, I've really got urgent business — get over here, quick!"

Sun Jia paid the guard no mind, merely raising a hand toward Zhao Jin and saying, "Old Huang, this is my nephew. He's got some reputation in Xuzhou — Zhao Jin. You've heard of him, right?"

From the exchange just now, Zhao Jin had formed a decent impression of Guard Huang. The guard had sent men over, then come himself — everyone could guess his intent and purpose. Being in such a hurry, he seemed a man who valued loyalty.

At the introduction, Zhao Jin smiled and cupped his fists in salute. Guard Huang, his face full of impatience, said, "What's all this about a nephew at a time like this... Zhao Jin... Xuzhou's Zhao Jin..."

Once the name Zhao Jin registered, the impatience on Guard Huang's face turned to shock. The household retainers beside him wore expressions of utter disbelief.

He took another look at Zhao Jin's appearance and age, incidentally glancing at Dong Bingfeng beside him as well. Only then did Guard Huang truly grasp the situation. He hurriedly dismounted and waved at the retainers around him, who all followed suit and got off their horses.

"So it's Young Master Zhao! No wonder the man beside you looked familiar. Little Dong, right? I've shared drinks with your father a few times — you were still small then. Never thought you'd be so grown!" Guard Huang's face was all warm smiles.

Dong Bingfeng looked bewildered and didn't recognize him, but with things put that way, he could hardly avoid bowing in greeting and calling him "Uncle."

"The Pizhou Guard and the Xuzhou Guard were originally one family — we're all our own people!" Pizhou Guard Commander Huang Meng continued building the connection.

The Xuzhou Guard, the Xuzhou Left Guard, and the Pizhou Guard were collectively known as the Three Guards of Xuzhou, and indeed their ties were closer than elsewhere. The mainstream of Pizhou military officers came from the Pizhou Guard. Counting Zhao Jin's and Dong Bingfeng's military household status, the connection could genuinely be drawn.

Moreover, Vice General Zhou had dealt with Zhao Jin's side many times, with quite a few military merits skimmed off the Zhao Character Camp. The Pizhou Guard Commander was already part of that circle's core and naturally knew a great deal. Vice General Zhou was the commanding officer of the official troops in Xuzhou and the vast surrounding region. With that layer of connection, they were that much closer.

"Old Huang, what exactly is the matter, that it would take you, the Guard Commander himself, to come out?" Sun Jia asked with a smile.

Guard Huang's smile turned into a bitter laugh. He muttered a few curses under his breath, then raised his head and waved an arm. "The Feng Family sent word asking us to block Young Master Zhao's party. They say he raided their family estate and looted their goods and wealth, and that they'd show generous gratitude afterward. What damned nonsense — how could Young Master Zhao possibly do such a thing!"

Pizhou bordered right on Xuzhou, and everyone was perfectly clear about Zhao Jin's affairs. What abilities Zhao Jin himself possessed, what backing he had — common folk might not know, but someone like Guard Huang knew very well. Now that he saw it was Zhao Jin before him, even if Zhao Jin truly had committed some heinous crime, then it simply hadn't happened.

After saying all this, Guard Huang added a warning: "Once you've rested, leave quickly. The Feng Family has considerable influence around here — heaven knows if they'll try some other method. Be careful."

Zhao Jin nodded gravely, cupped his fists, and said, "Your nephew will remember Uncle Huang's generous goodwill this day. There will surely be generous repayment in the future. If the Feng Family tries to make trouble and Uncle Huang finds himself unable to handle it, please come to your nephew without hesitation — your nephew will certainly help."

Hearing Zhao Jin speak with such solemn formality, Guard Huang beamed with delight. Stationed right beside Xuzhou, he naturally understood exactly what Zhao Jin's words signified.

"I'll send a few men ahead to clear the road for you, so no blind fools block your way. Go quickly — on Pizhou ground, aside from the few hundred men under my command, the Feng Family can muster far too many." Guard Huang sold him another favor, calling over the retainers behind him to give a few instructions, then took his leave and turned away.

Zhao Jin's side had nearly finished their preparations as well. Before mounting, Zhao Jin again cupped his fists toward Sun Jia. "Uncle Sun has spent a great deal of money this time and helped immensely. Your nephew thanks you here. If the Feng Family goes to Yutou Town to cause trouble, Uncle Sun should return to Xuzhou and stay there for now."

"No need to worry. My ties with the grain transport side are excellent right now. With those people protecting me, the Feng Family can't touch me!" Sun Jia said with a laugh.

Yi Jinbao and the Peng uncle and nephew parted ways here. The silver given to them was increased by half, but none of the three looked happy. Too many harrowing incidents had occurred along this journey, and now they'd provoked the Feng Family — who knew what trouble might follow. The only relief was that they could go home.

Zhao Jin swung himself onto his horse. Though the stop for food and drink had taken only a little more than the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, with hot food and hot water in their bellies and fresh, strong horses under them, everyone's spirits and energy were lifted.

But at this moment, they couldn't start off at a wild gallop. They first had to let the mounts warm up before they could pick up speed.

Ever since they'd stopped, quite a few people had been poking their heads around and snooping. By now, those dozen or so were following behind, and some were even making wide circles to pass around them from a distance.

"Bingfeng, take the two best riders and head for Xuzhou right now. Bring extra horses — the faster, the better..." Zhao Jin called Dong Bingfeng over and quickly gave a few instructions. Dong Bingfeng, seeing the situation around them, understood what was happening. He nodded, called two men over, and drove their horses at a gallop, racing off along the official road toward Xuzhou.

Zhao Jin drew a deep breath and turned his head to look. Everyone was following his orders, wearing their upper-body armor. This eased his mind somewhat.

From far off, he watched Dong Bingfeng loose a few arrows ahead, but the galloping speed of the mounts never slowed, and soon they were out of sight.

They hadn't traveled long before Pizhou City grew smaller and smaller in the distance. People appeared up ahead, but the few retainers Guard Huang had sent would shout a couple of words, or meet them face to face, and those parties that seemed poised to block the way would all withdraw on their own. Zhao Jin's side had given each of those men ten taels of silver as a reward, which only fired up their enthusiasm further — even their shouts grew much louder.

In about another half shichen they would reach Xin'an Town, and Guard Huang's retainers would be due to turn back. Just then, a man dressed as a household retainer came racing over from the direction of Pizhou. Before he even reached them, he was recognized — another of Guard Huang's retainers.

"Master Jin needs to move faster. The Feng Family has mustered five groups — there are bandits, local militia from the estates, and salt-running crews. They say they're going to catch up to Master Jin. My master sent this humble one to deliver the warning, and also said he must take his brothers back. He asks Master Jin's forgiveness." The retainer spoke very carefully.

Zhao Jin nodded and said with a smile, "There's nothing to forgive. I owe your master a tremendous favor. You all go quickly!"

For Guard Commander Huang Meng to go this far was already quite decent; Zhao Jin naturally wouldn't quibble. The retainer cupped his fists from horseback, Liu Yong pressed a ten-tael silver ingot into his hand, and the several retainers all wheeled their horses around.

Everyone had heard the retainer's words, and each face grew solemn. With women and children in tow, no matter how hard they galloped, they couldn't go very fast. If someone wanted to catch up, they certainly could. Without the element of ambush or surprise, in a pure cavalry fight, the Zhao Character Camp truly held no advantage. The land between Pizhou and Xuzhou was flat as far as the eye could see, and the enemy wouldn't dismount to fight either.

"Pick up the pace!" Zhao Jin gave the order, and the horse column's speed increased.

As the main body quickened, Chen Sheng signaled to Zhao Jin, and the two slowed to fall behind. Chen Sheng, his face heavy, asked, "Those women and children are nothing but dead weight. Let them find somewhere to hide first — we go on ahead."

"We're still too far from Xuzhou, and there are eyes on us from behind. Wait a while longer!" Zhao Jin said grimly.

Seeing Chen Sheng about to speak again, Zhao Jin said coldly, "We didn't do this to save these women and children. We did this as a show for our men below. Without this kind of righteous, chivalrous conduct, morale and loyalty will scatter. We go ahead. Once past Xin'an Town, by midnight we should reach ****, and then we can enter Xuzhou!"

Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng spurred their horses to catch up with the column. Turning to look back, the sun was about to set...

At this moment, He Village was still bustling with activity. The distillery remained packed with large carts lined up to collect goods. In the twelfth month and the first month, everyone had a bit more cash on hand. No matter how hard things were, people had to have a proper New Year. Fish and meat went without saying, and good liquor couldn't be left out — especially since the Han Well Famous Liquor's reputation had already spread. In neighboring Shandong, Henan, Fengyang Prefecture, and Huai'an Prefecture, plenty of people drank this wine.

Buy the liquor, haul it back, and sell it at a high price during the twelfth and first months — that was everyone's plan. Merchants chase profit, so they couldn't be bothered about the New Year. Every day, people lined up at the distillery gates to collect their goods, and the cart inn's business had grown quite brisk along with it.

He Village was now divided into two areas. The Zhao Character Camp's encampment was one, and the distillery and market were the other — neither interfered with the other.

Two peculiar traveling merchants had checked into the cart inn. These two men had brought no attendants, carts, or horses, yet they'd taken the most expensive private courtyard. And they hadn't come here to buy liquor, nor to open a shop near the market. Every day they just wandered around everywhere. The names registered at the counter were Han Song and Yan Shao'an.

When these two Brocade Guard agents arrived, they found a multitude of merchants and a scene of bustling excitement, without the slightest desolation of the year-end season. This pleased Han Song and Yan Shao'an greatly — as long as there were plenty of people, the two of them wouldn't attract any notice.

But He Village was vigilant everywhere. There were practically no ordinary residents left — every part of it was connected to the Zhao Character Camp. The moment the two of them arrived, it was immediately reported up.

What stunned the cart inn's manager was that Wang Zhaojing, Third Master Wang, personally took charge of the matter, and it was said that Young Master Lei, who had been overseeing things over at Kong Village, had also returned.

The manager had been working here for quite some time. Because his background was clean and someone had vouched for him, he'd been kept on all along. After so many years as an inn manager, he'd naturally honed a sharp eye for reading people. This manager had long since realized that at least half the staff in the cart inn had questionable identities. They were diligent and warm enough when serving guests, but sometimes their movements were far too furtive — they even slipped in and out of the guest rooms.

At the time, the manager had assumed the man had sticky fingers and went to the current proprietor, Liu Yong, for guidance. The answer he got was to leave it alone — nothing would go missing. That reply sent a cold sweat down the manager's back, and he wanted to quit on the spot, but was forced to stay on. After all, running an inn still required someone with the right know‑how to manage it. His wages were doubled, and his year‑end bonus was increased as well.