Chapter 444: The Spring Festival Gathering

The others were fine, but on New Year's Eve, Zhao Jin ate several more meals than usual — he had to eat with the household guards, and also with his family, and then during the year-end vigil he had to go back to the barracks.

By the time the firecrackers and fireworks roared at midnight, Zhao Jin had already stuffed himself full of dumplings and was cheering together with the excited household guards.

The forty-fourth year of Wanli passed, and the forty-fifth year of Wanli arrived...

"One year? Why does it feel like ten years have gone by!" Zhao Jin said to his companions with a laugh, and they all smiled as well.

No one thought Zhao Jin was joking. Before the year began, everyone had still been full of hope for the future, but over the course of this one year, they had experienced blades and blood and fire one after another, grown accustomed to life and death and parting — each of them had matured far, far beyond their actual age.

Entering the new year, Zhao Jin was chased back home by his companions, who said it was the big holiday, their big brother had toiled so much, and he ought to spend the new year with his whole family.

Though it was already the early hours of the morning, Zhao Jin's parents and his wife were all still waiting at home. The family ate another meal of dumplings together before finally going to sleep.

They had stayed up most of the night. Outside, laughter and cheerful voices mingled with the unceasing fireworks. Xu Zhenzhen's maidservants had also found a convenient spot to watch for a long time. Xu Zhenzhen herself had stayed with her parents-in-law the whole time waiting for Zhao Jin. Husband and wife had both been busy until now, and after lying down, for a while they couldn't fall asleep.

Though they were both young, at this moment they had no energy for anything else and simply chatted idly. Since their marriage, they had rarely had the chance for such casual talk.

"From now on, be careful when going out. Have your guards keep a tighter watch — don't let any villains slip through a gap," Zhao Jin cautioned.

"This humble wife understands. Husband must also be careful." Xu Zhenzhen paused before answering this way; she of course understood the meaning behind Zhao Jin's words.

Zhao Jin looked at the bed canopy and said, "Whether inside Xuzhou city or here in He Village, there's nothing to worry about — but we still have to guard against the one-in-a-thousand chance."

Xu Zhenzhen was silent for a moment, then asked softly, "What does husband plan to do next?"

Zhao Jin laughed twice and said, "Since it's decided, then we must move fast."

On New Year's Eve, everyone had to hold the year-end vigil and celebrate the new year, so the next day no one would rise too early. All the arrangements at He Village were made accordingly. What no one expected was that on the morning of the first day of the first month of the forty-fifth year of Wanli, as soon as the sun rose, people began sending in visiting cards, wanting to offer New Year greetings to Master Jin and the Old Master and Old Madam — and there was more than just one such guest.

Calculating the time, these New Year visitors must have set out on the road well before dawn. A few who lived far off had likely departed right at the moment of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. In the bitter cold, they had actually traveled through the night to come here.

"The roads are full of guests, all heading our way." The rotating sentries of Zhao's Camp were on duty as usual. The cavalrymen who had been patrolling through the night returned for shift change and reported this news with faces full of astonishment.

With guests arriving so early, there was naturally no reason for the host to keep sleeping. Zhao's Camp, which had barely rested, began to stir awake.

Though they said they were offering New Year greetings to Old Master Zhao, everyone knew the real person of importance was Zhao Jin. The military camp involved secrets and outsiders were not admitted, so tables and chairs were set up directly in the main hall of the caravan inn to receive the guests.

The earlier one arrived, the more it proved one's sincerity — everyone in Xuzhou understood this principle. In the past, the powerful figures of Feng County and Pei County north of the Yellow River had not had much contact with Zhao Jin, yet before noon had even passed, people from there had also rushed over.

Each person offered New Year greetings and presented gifts. Those who arrived earlier finished their greetings and courtesies but did not leave, and those who came later did the same. The crowd grew larger and larger, and the inn's serving staff was no longer enough to cope. They had no choice but to transfer a company over from Zhao's Camp's personal guard unit, and several servants from the Xu household also came to help — only then did they manage to handle it.

Ji Xiang's father could no longer concern himself with the family reunion and began sending people to the mutual-defense communities to muster cooks and extra hands. With so many guests, it looked like all of them would be staying for lunch, and judging by the enthusiasm, dinner was also a possibility — was no one going to let them celebrate the new year in peace?

And then every single person asked about one thing: when would Master Jin lead everyone to fight their way out.

Zhao Jin sat at the center of the main hall. The various factions of Xuzhou were either seated or standing from the inside outward according to their status and rank. Most were martial men of valor, but Scholar Cai and Xiucai Zou had also arrived, along with several gentry of scholarly background — they had come no later than the others.

"... We men of Xuzhou have suffered too long. We have blades in hand, our martial skills are refined, and we dare to fight and risk our lives — so why should we live harder lives than people elsewhere..." someone said in a rough, loud voice.

No one knew who started it, but everyone chimed in. One man, his face full of indignation, declared: "What kind of place is our Xuzhou? Since ancient times it's been a blessed land that produces elite soldiers and fierce generals. An ordinary village man from here goes elsewhere and is treated as a martial hero. One man from Xuzhou can beat several of theirs — yet these years we've been miserable. Those over in Pi Prefecture, just because they have a bit of stinking money, make us fight in the vanguard, bleed and sell our lives for hard-earned coin, while they rake in mountains of gold and silver. Is there any such rotten injustice in the world!"

Everyone looked over and saw it was Jiang Mutou from Fangcun Market. They all knew this man had hitched himself to Zhao Jin and was the one who had benefited the most from the "Thousand Riders Rescue the Master" affair. Jiang Mutou had also come early to offer New Year greetings — calculating the time, he must have spent New Year's Eve itself on the road.

Connections aside, these words were the honest truth. A chorus of agreement rose from the crowd. Jiang Mutou saw Zhao Jin nod slightly, and his heart grew even more settled. He raised his voice again: "We sell our lives and spill our blood, while others take the lion's share — on what grounds! That Huai salt passes through Xuzhou — that's profit like mountains of gold and silver — yet what do we get to taste of it!"

"That's right, Old Jiang speaks true. So much salt, and all we in Xuzhou can do is scrounge a bit to peddle ourselves — the rest we can only watch with open eyes. Those people from Huai'an Prefecture look down their noses at everyone and don't pay us the slightest attention!" Qi Erkui jumped out from the side and loudly seconded.

Jiang Mutou planted one foot on a stool and roared: "In the past, Cloud Mountain Temple only cared about getting rich for themselves. That bunch of monks never considered themselves Xuzhou people. Not only did we never get any benefit following them, we got screwed over at every turn."

At this point, Jiang Mutou noticed several people looking at him with surprise, and then two scholars in their thirties walked in. Quite a few people went over to greet them — they clearly held considerable status. Jiang Mutou paused briefly, then continued: "With a great hero like Master Jin taking the lead, our luck has finally come. With Master Jin leading us, what is there to fear? If we dare to stake our lives, dare to bleed, do we really need to worry that Master Jin will shortchange us?"

"How could that be! Master Jin's benevolence and righteousness are unmatched!" someone in the crowd shouted in agreement.

The reason everyone had rushed over so early to offer New Year greetings was none other than the news that had spread in recent days — that Master Jin was going to lead everyone to fight their way out of Xuzhou and seize good territory elsewhere. Cooped up in a barren backwater like Xuzhou, fighting with others all day long with nothing to show for it — and now with Zhao Jin's rise, everyone had to keep their heads down and fall in line, not even daring to act out of turn.

They were stifled enough here at home. They didn't know how to brew liquor themselves, nearly all the good land was in Zhao Jin's hands, the channels for private salt were monopolized by those few, and the rest couldn't get a share. They could only scratch a living from the soil or go out and earn hard, blood-on-the-blade money — it was truly miserable.

So when Zhao Jin made that proposal at Fangcun Market, everyone's hearts were immediately stirred. If someone else had said the same words, they might have been dismissed as empty boasting or considered unreliable — but when these words came from Zhao Jin's mouth, it was entirely different.

That Zhao Jin kept his word was acknowledged by all Xuzhou. That Zhao's Camp's power was fierce and peerless — this too was acknowledged by all Xuzhou. When a man like this spoke, the prospects were immense.

The Xuzhou heroes who heard of this were all burning with fervor. They weren't even willing to spend the new year at home anymore and hurried over to join in. Only upon arriving did they realize their decision had been correct — so many others had come even earlier than they had.

The earlier speaker's words and Jiang Mutou's speech had stirred everyone's spirits. When they finished, seeing that Zhao Jin still sat composed, another person stood up and spoke aloud, the content much the same — nothing more than Xuzhou's blade-bearers living hard lives, and the need for Master Jin to lead them out.

The reason some had looked at Jiang Mutou earlier was because Ruhui had entered the room. By now it was nearly noon, and it seemed Ruhui too had set out for here the moment the city gates opened — his face was flushed red from the cold.

"Master, was the journey here peaceful?" Ruhui asked with a smile.

Zhao Jin nodded with a smile and also greeted Zhou Xuezhi on the other side, casually saying, "Why not stay in the city a few more days?"

"Is there confidential business at He Village? Should this subordinate return at once?" Ruhui asked with a faint, ambiguous smile. Zhou Xuezhi coughed beside him, his expression somewhat awkward.

It didn't take any great perceptiveness to understand the discontent in Ruhui's words. For a man in the role of chief advisor and steward, to have been virtually shut out for the past ten-plus days — he was bound to be in a sour mood.

Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng, who were nearby, could also hear. Both pretended not to. Zhao Jin said calmly, "There are some things it's better not to know."

With that, Zhao Jin rose from his seat. The moment he stood, silence fell inside and out. No matter how loudly others had spoken, the outcome all depended on how Zhao Jin chose to respond.

"Everyone's been talking around it for ages — might as well lay it out plainly. Right next to Xuzhou there's a big slab of fatty meat: Huai'an Prefecture. Yutou Town in Pi Prefecture sits on the canal — southern goods and northern goods all pass through. Haizhou over there produces Huai salt, and private salt is pure silver. If we can swallow up Huai'an Prefecture, then everyone will have more than they can ever use." Zhao Jin called out.

As he spoke, the entire hall was utterly silent — only the sound of firecrackers from neighboring villages could be heard. No one even dared to breathe loudly, terrified of missing a single word Zhao Jin uttered.

When he finished, everyone burst into laughter. Places like Fengyang Prefecture were indeed hard to strike at — a land of endless disasters great and small, where common folk fled famine year after year, and this year there was even that foul business of swallowing up land and falsely reporting refugees. What profit was there to be had going there? And if they ran afoul of the local strongmen or those big shots in Fengyang, they'd be in even deeper trouble.

By comparison, all of Huai'an Prefecture seemed to flow with silver everywhere. Never mind Qingjiangpu, one of the most prosperous places under heaven — just the Pi Prefecture region bordering Xuzhou alone, Yutou Town was so rich it oozed wealth. And many of the private salt routes passed from Pi Prefecture through Xuzhou. No one knew just how much profit lay in these two things alone — everyone's eyes burned with greed.