Chapter 507: The Big Picture in the Salt Market

There were those destitute, impoverished sons of the Feng clan who had been working as errand runners for others, and suddenly they changed into long gowns, swaggering over to fight for the family property. Every one of them had been promised sky-high rewards from outside, as long as they became the head of the family.

Apart from this, the managers and stewards of the Feng family businesses everywhere were all lining their own pockets — no one was minding the store at a time like this anyway.

In the Yangzhou region, investigating the major case no longer mattered much. After all, if blame really came down, the prefect, the vice-prefect, the county magistrate and the like would be the unlucky ones. The clerks and runners just carried on as usual. In officialdom and in the underworld alike, everyone was scheming how to get rich off the Feng family.

That very night, those few runners got the first bite and hauled away roughly three cartloads of goods and valuables, thinking it would be enough to last them several lifetimes. Who could have imagined that the very next day they would be seized and thrown into jail, and the goods they had fished out would be thoroughly divided up. As for the Feng family's servants, guards, and the like — those who ran fast could count themselves lucky. Anyone who hadn't left by daybreak met with utter disaster, every last one thrown into prison and tortured, interrogated as to whether they were in league with that gang of river-and-lake bandits. As for the money and valuables on their persons, those were all stolen goods, openly and righteously swallowed up.

Nor could it be said that such torture was useless. It was still discovered that two servants who worked in the inner quarters had not returned that night. Everyone had assumed they had gone out carousing — these servants who had face before the old master and the young master really were hard to keep in check.

As it happened, when Feng Jinde returned to Yangzhou, he found the bodies of those two missing servants in a pond west of the city...

The moment Feng Jinde returned, the situation changed at once. Whether in terms of seniority, his standing in the clan, or his reputation in Yangzhou city, Feng Jinde was now the undisputed first choice for head of the Feng family.

And his return did indeed steady the scene. First, he sent word to the authorities to have all the Feng family's lost goods and valuables classified as stolen property, which the Feng family would not pursue. At the same time, the Feng family put up silver to invite official runners to come and arrest all those servants and clansmen who had taken advantage of the chaos to commit outrages. Then he arranged for trusted family accountants and stewards to inspect the businesses and audit the books, promising not to hold past misdeeds against anyone — only that those people had to cough up what they had swallowed.

Next, he sent the female dependents of Old Master Feng and Master Feng to a country estate outside the city to recuperate in peace. Those who wished to return to their natal families or remarry were free to do so. He also used the official runners to scare off those genuine or fake illegitimate sons and mistresses' children and the like who dared come making trouble and demanding money.

One measure after another was deployed, and only then was the Feng family's situation stabilized. After that, it was time for the Feng family's own people to close the doors and talk.

Old Master Feng's own younger brother, Feng Jinde — high in seniority, ample in prestige — still could not, at the root of it, keep the Feng clansmen in check. After all, Feng Shaoxian also had brothers and offspring, and by that reckoning, they were closer kin than Feng Jinde. There were all sorts of arguments, and it was very hard to sort out a clear outcome, to say nothing of outsiders meddling, which tangled things up even more.

"When this old man was on his way back, I spoke with the master, and he said that if there's anything you need help with, just say the word!" This remark, seemingly dropped in passing, made everyone fall silent.

That gang of "river-and-lake bandits" who had nearly wiped out the entire Feng family — not a trace of them could be found now. Neither the authorities nor the underworld could give any account of them.

Unclear as the investigation was, everyone had a vague inkling of who it was connected to. North and south of the river, only that Zhao Jin in Xuzhou was irreconcilably at odds with the Feng family, killing without restraint. Think of the awe-inspiring ferocity Zhao Jin had forged in the Grass Nest — it was entirely possible the Yangzhou affair was linked to him as well.

Plenty of people could think of this; not a single one dared say it openly. Kill one man, kill two, kill ten — no one was afraid of that. But kill over a hundred, defeat over a thousand, and then dare to come like this and wipe out an entire household in blood, and after the fact leave no trace to be found — who wouldn't be terrified?

Such ruthless and vicious methods, such a death-dealing fiend — who would dare rashly offend him? Every quarter of Yangzhou was cowed into submission. Even the minor clerks and runners of the authorities were silent as cicadas in winter. Everyone could figure it out: even if the army were sent to suppress him, even if Zhao Jin were brought to justice, who could guarantee that gang of lawless desperadoes wouldn't slaughter their way into Yangzhou again? Outside the city wasn't safe — was inside the city safe? How had that Feng Shaoliang of the Feng family died?

Think it through carefully: the Feng family and Zhao Jin fell out, the two sides traded pieces on the official chessboard, and then they fought a pitched battle out in the Grass Nest. After Zhao Jin won, he actually didn't stop. First he killed the Feng family's bastard son Feng Shaoliang, then in the middle of the night he bloodily wiped out the entire Feng household. This way of doing things was truly like a thunderbolt from the blue, without the slightest pause, until the enemy was utterly crushed. Such a terrifying power, such brutal methods — who would dare offend him?

Moreover, news traveled fast in the Yangzhou region. Everyone knew that the grand coordinator, the circuit inspector, and all those high officials had stood by and done nothing about the Feng family because that Zhao Jin also had powerful backing in the capital. Strong himself, and with backers behind him — who would dare offend such a man? It wasn't his own family's business, so why meddle and invite trouble? To put it bluntly, even if it were his own family's business, at a time like this, one would have to pull one's head in.

Once Feng Jinde dropped the name Zhao Jin, silence fell all around. Those who were unwilling, once they figured out what was what, also fell silent and folded their banners. Even those managers and stewards who had been lining their own pockets and embezzling all fell into line. In a mere ten days or so, Feng Jinde had the Feng family firmly in his grasp — broken and ruined though it was.

Family members and clansmen had suffered grievous casualties, and the loss of wealth was severe. But these were all surface appearances. As long as the salt permit quotas remained, as long as the connections with the salt pans and the salt routes remained — even, as long as the shopfronts in the salt market remained — then the Feng family could quickly recover.

The clansmen had stopped making trouble, but the salt merchants were all watching like tigers eyeing their prey. All those legal and illegal things the Feng family had in the salt trade were far too valuable. When they were running things well, there was nothing to be said, but now that they were in decline, everyone wanted to come take a bite.

Especially those salt merchants who had set up shopfronts in the salt market and had dealings with Zhao Jin — they were the most impatient and eager. You have face with Master Jin, but our relationship with Master Jin isn't bad either. If we settle this among ourselves, Master Jin might not necessarily take sides.

Fortunately, Feng Jinde had a clear head. When people started calling him Old Master, he did not get carried away, nor did he stay in Yangzhou to enjoy the glory and luxury. Instead, he hurriedly set out on the road to Xuzhou. Who had caused everything before his eyes? Who had given him all that he now had? Feng Jinde understood perfectly well in his heart. He certainly did not want to repeat past mistakes.

As for the salt merchants in Yangzhou city, even those salt merchants who had no particular connection to Xuzhou — they too were now preparing to go to Xuzhou. And those who had set up points in the salt market were all rushing to set off, including some who had just returned and now, without delay, continued their journey.

Just as the salt merchants were setting out from Yangzhou, one company of the Zhao Camp personal guard, along with the bow company, plus the cavalry company and the Tatar horsemen, led by Dong Bingfeng and Ji Xiang, traveled in batches from Xuzhou into Pi Prefecture. After a brief rest and resupply at Yutou Town, they boarded boats and disembarked on the eastern shore of Luoma Lake.

There, the refugees had already built simple docks and roads. Following the road, they reached the refugee stockade and linked up with the three companies stationed there. One company stayed behind to guard; the remaining three companies, plus the cavalry and the bow company, along with five hundred able-bodied young refugees — a total of twelve hundred men — set out eastward, led by guides from Li Dajin and Pi Prefecture.

Battle erupted five days later. In the early morning hours, the Zhao Camp force attacked a manor by the banks of the Lian River. Inside the manor were not just farming households, but nearly a thousand bandits. Only, they were completely unprepared. Caught off guard, they suffered devastating losses, with over half dead or wounded. By noon, the Zhao Camp force was already on the return journey with captured oxen, horses, and carts.

In the latter half of the sixth month, the government offices of both Haizhou and Pi Prefecture received several hundred human heads. Many among them were desperate, wanted bandits long pursued by the authorities. The entire staff of the Haizhou and Pi Prefecture offices received commendations and official merit for this.

At the same time, the Grass-Turning Snake, that band of Grass Nest bandits, was completely wiped out. Across the entire waste-grass flats, not a trace of the Feng family remained. In fact, across the entire waste-grass flats, there were practically no Grass Nest bandits left at all. The martial men of Xuzhou and Pi Prefecture had swept through repeatedly; small bands of brigands had either been destroyed or scattered without a trace. Those places where refugees had gathered were all being consolidated near the new refugee stockade.

The new refugee stockade was already looking quite presentable. The surrounding wasteland had been reclaimed. Though the harvests would not be very good for the first few years, there was at least some output now, and outside supplies could be greatly reduced. Moreover, the flow of goods from Yutou Town was not one-way, because the salt goods smuggled out by the salt-pan households from the Haizhou area were now all distributed through the new refugee stockade and then transported and sold to the outside.

Many salt peddlers bought grain and goods directly at Yutou Town and then traveled to the new refugee stockade to do business.

Originally, the new refugee stockade had been kept secret for fear of being uprooted by various powers. Now, the new refugee stockade no longer had such concerns.

By the time the various salt merchants arrived in Xuzhou, everything that had happened in the Grass Nest had also settled into finality. This time, no special military review was prepared for them. They were simply led around to observe the training of the Zhao Camp.

Whether they understood military matters or not, the elite quality of the Zhao Camp retainers, and the bloody, murderous aura of men who had taken lives, could be felt by all, and it shook them to the core — or more precisely, it terrified them.

Having witnessed this strength, they naturally understood their own attitude and stance. Thinking again of the Feng family's fate, every one of them steeled themselves for a harsh fleecing.

But when they sat down to negotiate with Zhao Jin, it was not the imagined bone-scraping and marrow-sucking. The salt market share was to become thirty percent — that was no great hindrance. Next, they were to open wine shops in Yangzhou and Qingjiangpu — that was also very simple; the salt merchants had considerable face both north and south of the river. Third, that manor near Haizhou where the Grass Nest bandits had been stirring up trouble — Zhao Jin wanted to take it for himself. Everyone agreed to this as well. That manor was, in fact, the warehouse for several small, covert salt pans nearby, and it belonged to the Feng family.

Zhao Jin wanting that place was presumably to get a hand in the private salt trade. Things having reached such a point, who could stop him? This demand of his was, in fact, already quite measured.

Even the Feng family did not suffer too much bleeding or loss of flesh. After Zhao Jin took that manor, he wanted forty percent of the Feng family's off-the-books private salt quota output from Haizhou. This truly was not much. For off-the-books quota, every catty produced was a catty of pure profit. Even with Zhao Jin taking a bite out of it, it was merely earning less, not earning nothing.

Thank you, everyone.