Chapter 455: To Deal with Outside Threats, First Secure the Home Front

Without any wasted words, he led his men straight to make the arrests. Ruhui, however, watched with a twitching eyelid. He leaned in close and asked Zhao Jin in a low voice, "If none of them talk, are we going to kill them all?"

"Of course, not one stays." Zhao Jin answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

The spies sent by the Feng family came from only two sources: either they were hired hands, or they were the Feng family's own subordinates. Both types had one thing in common—they were all in it for the money.

For spies like these, who lack any firm conviction, you have to use ruthless, vicious methods to intimidate them, to make them afraid. They'll definitely feel it's not worth throwing their lives away for the pittance they were hired to gather.

Once we start hitting them hard, once we've scared the Feng family's spies out of their wits, we'll at least have peace and quiet on our end for a while.

Ruhui did not press the issue further. Having been with the Zhao Camp for so long, he had grown somewhat accustomed to the killing. At first, Ruhui had feared that the Zhao brothers were bloodthirsty and murderous by nature, but that worry quickly faded, because Zhao Jin and the others did not kill for the sake of killing.

"Master, the Feng family still hasn't made any major moves, and it leaves one feeling deeply uneasy. I've already asked my friends in official circles to gather information, but at most, they can only learn what's on the surface. They can't know what the Feng family is really planning. What about the Internal Guard?" Ruhui asked, his face clouded with worry.

Zhao Jin shook his head. The Internal Guard under Liu Yong was small in number to begin with; they simply couldn't be spread out everywhere. They could only focus on watching a few key locations, like He Village, Xuzhou City, and Yutou Town. For places like Pizhou, they had to rely on local underworld figures like You Zhenrong to handle it.

Ruhui sighed softly and said in a low voice, "Although we've seized the initiative, the Feng family is large and powerful; they must still have plenty of tricks up their sleeve. If we don't figure them out, it could bring disaster."

"Master Cao, on the official front, our pieces have already been traded off. Whatever the Feng family wants to do now, they can only fight us with real swords and spears. And if they want to fight, they only have two places to strike: one is He Village, the other is Luoma Lake. Either they hit the Zhao Camp, or they hit our newly built refugee stockade." Wang Zhaojing spoke up from the side.

Chen Sheng, hugging his long saber, said in a muffled voice, "If they come to Xuzhou, if they come to He Village, they'll definitely lose!"

After Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng finished speaking, Ruhui was stunned for a moment, then shook his head with a rueful laugh and said, "It really is that simple. It seems I was overthinking things."

"... After all, it's not a war between two nations..." Ruhui remarked with a sigh. The clash between Zhao Jin and the Feng family was merely a conflict between powerful magnates. The authorities would turn a blind eye, but as long as the disturbance grew too large, the authorities would certainly intervene.

With this restriction in place, neither side could act without restraint. The fight between the two families was as if confined within a frame, or like standing on thin ice over water.

The Feng family couldn't do what the great refugee army did—march and encamp without restraint, shouting battle cries and assaulting cities in a bloodbath. They had to be mindful of the consequences. On the bureaucratic front, the Feng family had already been checked, so the places where they could strike could be roughly estimated. They had no choice but to attack Zhao Jin's foundations, and at present, there were only two such places: He Village and the newly built refugee stockade.

Conversely, if Zhao Jin wanted to strike at the Feng family, there were a great many places he could hit. The Feng family had vast properties in Huai'an Prefecture, and they still had a considerable amount of private salt that had to pass through Xuzhou.

Once he thought this through, Ruhui felt a strange sensation. Clearly, the Feng family held the advantage, an advantage that far surpassed the Zhao Camp's. But thinking about it this way, he suddenly felt that the Feng family wasn't so terrifying after all.

"No matter how many schemes they have, we'll just keep doing what we're doing. If they ignore us, we carry on. If they come to fight, then they can only fight on the battlefield we've chosen," Zhao Jin said in a deep voice.

After speaking, Zhao Jin patted Wang Zhaojing on the shoulder and said, "Originally, we wanted a quick fight to prevent the Feng family from entangling us with their connections on all fronts. But since Uncle Wang has made his move, we can take our time now."

Everyone burst out laughing. Ruhui pondered for a moment there, then spoke again: "This time, the reason we were able to know Pizhou like the back of our hand was entirely thanks to Branch Master Zheng over there. Can we use them to go to Yangzhou and do some scouting?"

Ruhui was thorough in his work; even knowing the disparity between the two sides wasn't so great, he still wanted to do everything that needed to be done. Hearing this, Zhao Jin's smile faded, and he said solemnly, "It's difficult. It's already hard to extend our reach south of Huai'an Prefecture, and Yangzhou Prefecture is an entirely different matter."

Just as they were talking, Liu Yong returned with his men from capturing the spies. Those spies were taken directly to a special location for interrogation. Liu Yong did not follow them; instead, he walked over quickly and whispered a few words.

"What a coincidence. We were just talking about the Incense Cult, and now trouble's brewing over there," Zhao Jin said with a chuckle.

In truth, the reason Zhao Jin could be so well-informed in Xuzhou was not something he could achieve by relying on the still-developing Internal Guard. Ruhui had cultivated good relations with the various government offices, and it was the tip-offs from these people, combined with communication from the powerful families who had submitted, that made such intelligence possible.

Beyond that, Zheng Quan, the Xuzhou Branch Master of the Incense Cult, had contributed greatly. With Zhao Jin's backing, Zheng Quan had eliminated, one by one, the various Incense Masters and leaders within Xuzhou who refused to obey him, then installed people he trusted—or rather, people Zhao Jin trusted—in their place.

Since they had already fallen out with the main altar anyway, Zheng Quan, on Ruhui's advice, returned thirty percent of the tribute wealth offered by the various branches back to the local Incense Masters, and then used another twenty percent of that wealth to aid the poor and distressed. This move instantly won over the hearts of the people in this area.

The rank-and-file cult members below received benefits, and the Incense Masters gained tangible advantages. Everyone feared that if Zheng Quan were no longer in his position, they would have to cough up all these benefits and perks, so they supported him wholeheartedly.

The members of the Incense Cult came from all walks of life, mostly poor commoners. They were everywhere, in the cities and the countryside, seeing and hearing everything. It was very difficult for any stirrings to escape their notice. This was the true source of intelligence; relying on this network, Zhao Jin had "sharp ears and keen eyes."

Even in the recent events in Pizhou, Huai'an Prefecture, Zheng Quan had played a role. After the Xuzhou branch of the Incense Cult was brought under Zhao Jin's control, the sub-branches and incense halls of the cult in other areas naturally had to draw a clear line with Zheng Quan's side, and Pizhou was no exception.

But Pizhou was different from the other places. The Sun Family Trading Company sold Hanjing Famous Liquor and skimmed off the tribute grain withheld from the canal transport system. This business made both sides a fortune. A considerable number of the transport soldiers and canal laborers on the waterway were followers of the Incense Cult. The trading company that sold Hanjing Famous Liquor in large quantities was naturally closely tied to Zhao Jin. Logically, the two sides should be locked in a blood feud after the carnage outside Xuzhou City, yet here in Yutou Town, Pizhou, their relationship was growing better and better. Everything else was false; only silver was real.

Since the Incense Cult here was making money thanks to Zhao Jin, they were naturally full of goodwill, and by extension, they held Zheng Quan, the Xuzhou Branch Master, in great respect. This allowed Zhao Jin's eyes and ears to extend into this area. It was precisely because of this connection that when Zhao Jin purged the Feng family's forces in Pizhou, those mounted bandits, local tyrants, and martial fighters had nowhere to hide.

However, all of this was limited strictly to Pizhou. The Incense Cult followers in other areas had received no such benefits and, bound by the main headquarters, remained mutually hostile with the Xuzhou side.

As the Zhao Camp's control over Xuzhou grew tighter and tighter, and more and more of the gentry and powerful families sided with Zhao Jin, Zhao Jin's control over the Xuzhou Incense Cult also became increasingly comprehensive.

"... That Zhao Jin is a demonic dragon. Eight hundred years ago, he was suppressed by Maitreya Buddha under a ten-thousand-catty purple-gold alms bowl. Twenty years ago, when the Yellow-Browed Monk was offering incense, he knocked over the purple-gold alms bowl and released this demonic dragon. This demonic dragon has been stirring up trouble in Xuzhou ever since. Just think, everyone, ever since you heard this name, how many people have lost their lives..."

Inside a residence in Xuzhou City, several dozen commoners were gathered in the courtyard, listening to a man at the front speak.

"... Now, this demonic dragon has incurred the wrath of both heaven and the people. Sooner or later, he will be taken away by the Buddha and the Eternal Mother. The sooner you all follow, the sooner you'll earn a share of merit..."

He was just getting worked up, spittle flying, when the tightly shut courtyard gate was pounded with a "Bang! Bang!" The man shuddered violently. This place for preaching scriptures and spreading the doctrine was extremely secretive, and there were lookouts posted outside. How could someone be knocking at the gate?

"What are you doing shutting the gate in broad daylight? Open up, quick!" A rough shout came from outside.

Before the preaching man could react, several of the commoners listening to the sermon had already run over to open the gate. The man was horrified. Not bothering to scold them, he turned and ran toward the other side. Whenever the Incense Cult held a sermon or burned incense, they always scouted out an escape route in advance. At the slightest sign of trouble, they would immediately flee down that back route.

But this man had only run a few steps before he stopped. He found that a dozen or so commoners from the sermon were blocking the exit.

"By doing this, do you want to be struck by lightning and burned by fire, never to be reincarnated for generations?" The man cursed furiously. The dozen or so commoners lowered their heads timidly, but not a single one moved aside.

The courtyard gate had already been opened. Five bailiffs, clutching wooden clubs and iron rulers, charged straight in, shouting, "Heretical cult scum, surrender yourselves now!"

No one wanted to surrender, but this man was a preacher, all skill of the lip. In the rush, he could neither fight nor flee. A club smashed into his shoulder, knocking him straight to the ground. Several bailiffs stepped forward, tied him up tightly, and dragged him out.

As soon as the bailiffs left, someone immediately shut the courtyard gate. One of the people who had just been among the commoners shouted, "Tomorrow, same place. Two catties of grain per person. If you don't want it, you can exchange it for copper coins, all fine Yongle Tongbao."

The commoners who had been listening woodenly just moments before all broke into smiles. The blessings of the afterlife, the Vacuous Homeland—how could any of that compare to grain and copper coins? If it wasn't the local Incense Master, reporting one outsider meant a reward. If you didn't report them, your whole family would be thrown in jail, and you'd be lucky to get out with your skin intact.

Still, everyone was puzzled. They had been in the faith for so many years, each under their own Incense Master, all local folks they knew well. Why were so many people being sent in from outside?

After all, the two sides were enemies. It was only in certain areas that relations had warmed up because of the liquor and tribute grain business. The main force of the Incense Cult still wanted to infiltrate Xuzhou. Because of Hanjing Famous Liquor, because of the Zhao Camp, and because of the large numbers of refugees accumulated in Xuzhou, this place was of great value to the Incense Cult, and they refused to give it up.

Currently, everyone in the underworld knew that the Zhao Camp and the Feng family were in conflict. In the eyes of outsiders, this surely meant internal turmoil, with plenty of loopholes to exploit.

But once they arrived and realized something was wrong, it was already too late to leave. People were taken to the main prison and given the same treatment as the Feng family's spies. If they could give up their accomplices, there was a way out. Otherwise, they would simply "die suddenly" in custody.