Chapter 492: Cai Kui of the Yellow River

Despite all the arrangements made for Li Dajin and Li He, everyone from Zhao Jin to Liu Yong felt this defection was genuine. News relayed through those salt merchants earlier confirmed the Feng family had indeed turned on Li Dajin, and the hostages left behind were truly his wife and children. If this were a suicide mission, the price would simply be too high. Of course, whether to accept him still depended on his performance in Yangzhou.

No one knows who said it first, but a single sentence soon spread throughout Xuzhou. A servant working in the prefect's compound muttered it, and when Prefect Tong Huaizu overheard, he had the man beaten with dozens of strokes of the plank and dismissed on the spot.

"Xuzhou is not inside the city walls, but at He Village." That was all it said.

Tong Huaizu had spent over a decade in Xuzhou and had only watched it wither day by day. Even newly built houses were rare inside or outside the city. Yet Zhao Jin had been at He Village for less than two years, and the place was already utterly transformed, brimming with new vitality everywhere.

Right now, on the border between the Lin family enclosure and Little Stone Village, construction was underway on a massive scale. Idle laborers from south of the Yellow River all came over to earn wages. Materials of every kind were either produced on-site or shipped in by water. The whole area had taken on the appearance of a vast construction site.

Though no one yet knew what this huge project would become, vague word had spread that a great marketplace was being built here, where wealthy merchants from every direction would come to do business.

A rundown place like Xuzhou actually has business? Even the locals of Xuzhou thought so. But they had seen plenty of Zhao Jin's camp's methods for generating prosperity. Since Lord Jin was handling it this way, there was surely a way to make it work—it definitely wouldn't turn out poorly.

The first to move were the commanders and chiliarchs of the Xuzhou Guard. They had already made their fortunes at He Village and knew the business opportunities here were boundless. The managers and clerks they had stationed here also had the duty of sending back word. The moment construction began there, they came at once to inquire. They didn't even ask what it was for—they asked the price of the shop spaces and what the rent would be.

The second to act were the clerks with real authority and the head constables from the yamen of Xuzhou and Xiao County. They too could be considered local gentry of long standing, having amassed considerable silver over the years. They were just lacking a profitable business that could generate steady income. They hadn't gotten deeply involved in the various enterprises at He Village before, but they couldn't afford to miss out now.

Being natives of the area, they knew perfectly well what a formidable power the Zhao Character Camp was, and they also knew Zhao Jin would never swallow up anyone's silver without cause—he placed great store in his reputation for trustworthiness. Moreover, both Zhao Jin and Chen Sheng were sons of yamen constables; Chen Wu and Zhao Zhentang had personal ties with everyone. With these multiple layers of assurance, they would not be shortchanged in the end.

Xu Zhenzhen naturally wouldn't pass this up. But what Zhao Jin found interesting this time was that the silver Xu Zhenzhen invested in this salt market wasn't public funds from the Xu family, but her own private savings, overseen by Meixiang and another maid. It was women's business, and Zhao Jin couldn't be bothered to ask for details.

Beyond them were the various gentry and local strongmen of Xuzhou. After that great assembly at He Village, everyone now had connections and a degree of face with one another. When an opportunity to prosper arose, coming over to buy a share was always acceptable. There were even cautious ones unwilling to put up money, yet wanting to sell their labor or produce to the construction site—that, naturally, was also easy to arrange.

As a result, the establishment of this salt market went far more smoothly than Zhao Jin had anticipated. Barely ten days in, Zhou Xuezhi, who had rushed back to take charge, was stunned to discover that, given the silver, materials, and even labor already raised, the salt market no longer required a single copper coin from the Zhao Character Camp.

The construction site bustled with noise and activity. Everyone also saw that on the tenth day of the fourth month, Zhao Jin led over two hundred riders out of the Zhao Character Camp's territory and headed east.

What was Lord Jin up to now? Which blind fool had offended Lord Jin this time? Everyone buzzed with speculation. What they couldn't see was that, as the Zhao Character Camp advanced, small mounted squads continuously joined or fell in along the route.

By now, the local strongmen across Xuzhou had settled on one conviction: whatever Lord Jin set out to do, they would follow. They didn't fear risking their lives or shedding blood—they only feared not contributing enough. Lord Jin had sharp eyes and a clear mind, and was bold and generous; he would never mistreat anyone who lent a hand.

Xin'an Township in Pi Prefecture, Huai'an Prefecture, had once had a Yellow River dock. Now, aside from fishing boats, no large vessels could be seen there. Merchant ships no longer stopped here at all, sailing straight downriver to Yutou Township. The former ferry crossing was now entirely overgrown with weeds.

Yet this desolation became the perfect cover for Cai Kui's gang. Unless one approached closely, no one could see the boats of various sizes moored among the grassy flats by the riverbank.

The Yellow River spanned the realm of the Great Ming from east to west, and there were men of the rivers and lakes who made their living exclusively off the river. This Cai Kui was one of them—a so-called river bandit and water pirate.

Cai Kui was in his early forties. He had trained since childhood to develop superb skill in the water. He had formally studied the water fork and the pudao saber under a master. On land, he could hold his own against two or three opponents without being at a disadvantage. On a boat or in the water, Cai Kui could fight five or even more.

But what made Cai Kui the leader was neither this martial skill, nor the exploit where he single-handedly hacked seven enemies to death on a boat. It was his sharp mind for steering with the current and kowtowing to power.

On the stretch of river from Xuzhou to Pi Prefecture, there were two river patrol inspectors. One of the two inspectors was his sworn brother, and the other was his brother-in-law. Heaven only knew how a man with small eyes, a big mouth, and a triangular face like Cai Kui could have such a dewy-fresh younger sister. Beyond these official connections, Cai Kui was, astonishingly, also one of the incense heads of the Smelling Incense Sect.

However, his position as incense head was subordinate to the branch at Yutou Township and not under the direction of the Xuzhou branch. Originally, Cai Kui didn't believe in gods or Buddhas, but the Smelling Incense Sect had a tight grip on the grain transport operations around Yutou Township. If one wanted to sell stolen goods, purchase supplies, or even go into hiding, it all had to go through the Smelling Incense Sect. Cai Kui promptly converted to belief in Maitreya and the Eternal Unborn Mother.

Not just this incense master position—Cai Kui's connections with the river patrol inspectors had also been painstakingly cultivated over time. It was all through his clever flattery and fawning that he had ingratiated himself to this degree.

With these several layers of connections, Cai Kui's life on the water was extremely comfortable. There had originally been two other minor powers, but under the dual pressure of the authorities and the underworld, Cai Kui had swallowed them both up. The merchant ships and civilian boats coming and going on the Yellow River thus became Cai Kui's targets.

Official boats Cai Kui never touched. With merchant ships, Cai Kui also exercised considerable restraint. Unless absolutely necessary, he never drew blood or killed. After boarding, he wouldn't strip everything bare, but would take only thirty to forty percent. He didn't tear faces, leaving both sides some room, and there would be no endless entanglement or revenge afterward. As for civilian boats, Cai Kui showed no mercy. He would brutalize them however he pleased. Young women might be kept alive a few extra days for amusement; the rest would have their bellies slit open, stones stuffed inside, and be sunk into the Yellow River. Even the boats would be dragged ashore and burned.

However, for the past half year or so, Cai Kui had not gone out on operations. He had let several underbosses lead the boats out to do business. This was because, when the roving bandits came south last year, it was this very Cai Kui who had helped them cross the river. Cai Kui had thought his moment to earn an enormous favor had arrived and had scoured the area to gather a large number of boats.

Of course, he had never imagined the outcome would be like that—that Zhao Jin would prove so ferociously formidable. At the time, he had been so terrified he dared not show his face. He had assumed that after a few months he could weather the storm. He never expected that the longer he hid at home, the more news he heard about Zhao Jin, and the more he heard, the more frightened he became—right up to this very moment.

"Scared of nothing! At worst, I'll take my boats and do business out on the lakes," Cai Kui cursed as he drank.

River bandits and water pirates didn't worry too much about grudges on land, because the two worlds operated on different tracks. Once they took to their boats and left, they naturally couldn't be pursued or found. But Cai Kui didn't want to abandon Xin'an Township. Aside from knowing the territory well, business had recently come knocking. People from Huai'an and Yangzhou Prefectures had asked if he could help transport salt.

Transporting salt on the Yellow River was big business. Not to mention the profit from the transport itself, unloading and distributing goods along the way, and building connections with the fences and strongmen along the banks, would allow him to branch into many other lines of business. This was a tremendous opportunity to build a family fortune and prosper.

Once he was no longer at Xin'an Township, this salt transport business would also fall through. And as for going to the lakes—both Lake Luoma and Lake Hongze had their own established orders. The lake bandits and water pirates there were major powers. An outsider like him couldn't possibly force his way in. If he barged in rashly, he would either be swallowed up or wiped out.

There were seven men in the room drinking. The other six were all Cai Kui's underbosses. Though Cai Kui hadn't shown his face in public these past months, he still kept a fairly tight grip on his several hundred men. Members of his own Cai clan held all the key positions, but Cai Kui also had trusted followers of other surnames controlling the clan headmen—layer interlocking with layer, which was how he maintained his firm hold.

"When the sect people arrive in a bit, every one of you show some respect. Don't put on an act like you don't believe. Do you understand?" Cai Kui barked irritably. Everyone set down their wine bowls and nodded hastily.

"Second Uncle, can these incense-burners really be trusted? Lake Luoma is their territory—will they really let us in to take a share?" The young man sitting furthest away spoke up. He was a distant nephew of Cai Kui.

For some reason, this remark ignited Cai Kui's temper. He hurled his wine bowl violently at the young man, who quickly ducked his head aside to dodge.

"You spend all day pissing me off! I send you to do business and you say you can't bring yourself to do it. I find you all a way out, and you start finding fault. Has something gummed up your brain?"

"Second Uncle, I can't do the work of brutalizing common folk. But at any other time, your nephew has never shrunk back!"

"Cai De, who are you saying that to? As if we've shrunk back!" someone off to the side said with a sidelong glance.

The young man called Cai De kept a cold face and said, "Whether you shrunk back or not, you know in your own heart. Last time we hit that salt boat, if I hadn't led the brothers in charging forward, that boat would have gotten away. After just two arrows, your men stopped moving. What, you only get fired up when it's killing commoners and brutalizing women?"

"You son of a bitch!" The man beside him smashed his wine bowl and stood up. Cai Kui showed not the slightest favoritism toward this distant nephew and also glared at him fiercely.

Just as they were about to tear into each other and come to blows, the bowls, dishes, cups, and chopsticks on the table began to tremble and clatter. The few men in the room stopped arguing and exchanged glances. Someone muttered, "Could it be a large group of riders passing by? Last time Zhao Jin crossed through, it felt just like this."

"Do the sect people have such an imposing display?" someone asked incredulously. Cai Kui shot a vicious glare at Cai De and cursed, "You watch yourself. If you offend the higher-ups later, I won't wait for anyone else to speak—I'll butcher you myself and feed you to the fish!"