Chapter 508: Wealth Flows Freely

Beyond this, the Feng family had to surrender all their properties in Pizhou, and also hand over three shops in prime locations in Qingjiangpu. This was easy enough to agree to — the trading firms and warehouses in Pizhou and Yutou Town had already been swallowed up by the Zhao Battalion; now it was merely a matter of formalizing the name. Providing three shops in Qingjiangpu was also very simple.

Zhao Jin did not, as everyone had expected, make outrageous demands, and this salt market also looked to be a fine piece of business. This made everyone feel that although Zhao Jin was fierce and domineering, he was not an unreasonable brute. One could still make money together with him, and do business for the long haul.

Once the salt merchants had finished burning incense and paying respects to the Buddha, each returned from Xuzhou, and the dust had fully settled.

The private salt trade from Xuzhou to the surrounding provinces and the prefectures of this province was now effectively under Zhao Jin's control. People in the Yangzhou salt industry, whether they had any connection to this direction or not, all set up shops in this salt market, which was tantamount to paying the customary fee. Feng Jinde returned to Yangzhou fully satisfied, with ten guards from Xuzhou now at his side.

Before his departure, someone with a penchant for stirring things up proposed that everyone should present the Zhao family with a plaque. The gilded characters on the plaque would read "The Foremost House North of the River." Though the meaning was shallow, it was a form of acknowledgment.

Only, word of this quickly reached Zhao Jin, who declined with a smile. Even without this plaque, Zhao Jin was still the foremost north of the river.

Private salt had always been wildly profitable, and with Zhao Jin controlling the production sites and the wholesale distribution channels, wealth naturally rolled in. But for the Zhao Battalion, the greatest source of wealth was liquor. Strictly speaking, it was liquor combined with the grain-tribute exchange. Through the distilled spirits, the Zhao Battalion obtained large quantities of rice at laughably low prices. Flipping this rice for resale was pure profit. As long as the Zhao Battalion's distilleries kept producing liquor, it was as if rivers of gold and silver flowed ceaselessly into the Zhao Battalion's treasury.

The distillery in **** Town had also opened for business. Utilizing the existing distilleries and cellars there, the output of Han Well Famous Liquor tripled. Moreover, when true connoisseurs tasted it, the distilled liquor from **** Town was better than that from the two Xuzhou sites, because the cellars here were old, the master distillers knew their craft, and there was good water — naturally, there was good liquor.

In truth, the quality of the distilled spirits from all the Han Well Famous Liquor distilleries was improving. It was simply a matter of mastering the precise timing for capturing the second pot head. The longer they did it, the richer their experience, and naturally, the better the liquor became.

Despite the explosive increase in output, supply still could not meet demand. The demand from the grain-tribute transport had grown several times over. In bitterly cold winter regions like Northern Zhili and Liaodong Garrison, they naturally loved a strong, fiery liquor like Han Well Famous Liquor. Some people there even trafficked it beyond the passes and beyond the border walls, selling it to Mongols and Jurchens for enormous profit. Even though it was now summer, they had to stock up in advance, lest they ship it over boat by boat when the time came and find it utterly insufficient.

Besides the north, there was also demand in the south — Huguang, Sichuan, even Yunnan and Guizhou. Those places were damp and cold, and the winters were just as hard to bear as in the north. To dispel the damp miasma, drinking a few mouthfuls of Han Well Famous Liquor invigorated the blood and warmed the body, making one feel very comfortable.

Not to mention, apothecaries all across the Great Ming, north and south, discovered that using Han Well Famous Liquor to make medicinal wine was far more effective than using ordinary wine.

At first, Han Well Famous Liquor was only sold around Xuzhou. Merchants who trafficked it went no further than Shandong, Henan, and the various places of South Zhili north of the river. Ever since the men on the tribute grain route tasted it, Han Well Famous Liquor began to be sold along the Grand Canal to all corners of the Great Ming, and demand skyrocketed accordingly. For the current tribute grain transport faction at Yutou Town, all they had to do was collect and stockpile the liquor, taking as much as there was. The Sun family trading house even had to control the quantity, for Han Well Famous Liquor still had to be sold to many other places.

Even the tribute boats themselves had changed. On some tribute boats, the grain they carried was intended directly for trading for liquor. The tribute soldiers would paint a wine bowl on the gunwale with lime. Such boats came to be called "tribute dregs."

The tribute grain route was the main customer. Another that had to be specially guaranteed was Wang Ziyang and those cattle and horse merchants. He had brought horses to the Zhao Battalion, and had also led over a hundred sturdy Tartar youths skilled in riding and archery — a truly considerable favor. His needs, the Zhao Battalion naturally had to guarantee. Moreover, Wang Ziyang and these cattle and horse merchants brought large livestock like strong horses and sturdy oxen, all essential draft power for reclaiming the Grass Nest wasteland.

Nowadays, it was hard to say whether Wang Ziyang's group trafficked livestock or white liquor. In the past, they would drive herds down from the north and spend a leisurely year selling them off in Xuzhou. But now it was different. Every time they came with large carts and camels, they would load up with distilled liquor and then head back north, leaving only a few trusted confidants to tend the shop in Xuzhou.

According to the information Liu Yong had gathered, Wang Ziyang and his group, relying on this liquor, had established connections with the largest merchant firms in Shanxi and the military officers of both the Datong and Shanxi Garrisons. Now, the liquor could be unloaded as soon as it reached Taiyuan, and there were naturally people to carry the goods beyond the passes and into the steppe. They were truly making money hand over fist, raking in a fortune.

As a result, one of the Shi family's industries also made money. Back when Zhao Jin and his companions used bamboo strips and slivers to weave protective gear, that trade still existed, with a dozen or so craftsmen still working at it. Children of Xuzhou's common folk also liked to buy a set to play with. But because of the liquor transport, a new product had been developed.

Wang Ziyang and his group transported goods by cart and camel, traveling overland the whole way, and bumps were inevitable. The Shi family workshop made double-layered bamboo crates, stuffing reed catkins and the like in between, which greatly reduced the breakage of wine jars. Wang Ziyang and his people naturally needed these, ordering them in large quantities every time they came, allowing the Shi family to make a tidy sum as well.

However, Wang Ziyang still knew what Zhao Jin's needs were. But cattle and horses could not be brought for trade until autumn. He could only bring as many people as possible from the grasslands. Yet their trade route was fixed, and not everyone along the way was a wandering horse bandit. As a result, the second time, there were only fifty-some people. The third time, the numbers were larger, but there were even children eleven or twelve years old. The rest were also not very old, though all knew how to ride horses.

Someone knowledgeable told Zhao Jin that these children were bought at the human markets of Datong and Taiyuan. These years on the grasslands were increasingly harsh. Under snow disasters and dzuds, it was common for an entire small tribe to freeze to death overnight. The law of the jungle among tribes was also severe; often, after a bloody clash to seize the able-bodied, livestock, and valuables, these worthless children were sold off to the Great Ming side for the price of a single goat.

Wang Ziyang, however, was too embarrassed to claim these half-grown children were able-bodied men. He merely said he was giving them to Zhao Jin. If they could be used, use them; if not, just keep them at the cattle and horse cart inn to watch the livestock. He would pay for the liquor himself.

Zhao Jin did not turn these children away. They had no parents and were quite young. Raised by the Zhao Battalion, they would naturally be utterly loyal to the Zhao Battalion. Moreover, they more or less knew how to ride, which was exactly what the Zhao Battalion needed.

Seeing that the Zhao Battalion had accepted this batch of children, Wang Ziyang and his group thought they had hit the mark and sent two more batches. By the third batch, there were even a dozen or so girls, and not a single one of them was over thirteen years old. Upon careful inquiry, there were even orphans of Shanxi Han people.

Even as a freebie, this couldn't be counted as such. This left the Zhao Battalion not knowing whether to laugh or cry. This was no charitable institution. Zhao Jin and his companions had already resolved that the next time children were sent over, they would not accept any more people.

Upon careful reckoning, the Zhao Battalion had quite a number of children under fourteen. Zhao Jin had established the Student Corps. The powerful and wealthy households around Xuzhou sent their nephews, and the common households sent their sons. Many boys had come — some to curry favor, some to learn skills. There were also those children brought back from the Ding Family Enclosure, plus the over one hundred and fifty who had come from the grasslands these past few times. Altogether, they numbered over four hundred.

Among them were also several dozen youths over sixteen, but amidst these over four hundred chattering, clamoring children, they were really not very conspicuous.

With a number approaching five hundred, calling it the Student Corps was clearly unsuitable. Some were already calling this place the "Youth Battalion."

After several operations, Zhao Jin finally made up his mind to move the camp to the nearby Cloud Mountain Temple estate. Although the barracks and training grounds at He Family Village were the most complete, that place was far too bustling. The soldiers trained hard all day, yet with the din of excitement in their ears, they were always restless and agitated.

Moreover, whether it was the salt market, the general market, or the merchants and related personnel who followed, all needed places to live and be entertained. He Family Village had complete facilities and was close to everywhere, making it naturally the best choice.

Fortunately, the chosen Cloud Mountain Temple estate was also not bad. The houses and residences originally for the estate's tenant farmers could be converted into barracks, and the farmland could be converted into training grounds. The "Youth Battalion" also had ample space to be accommodated.

For the entire Zhao Battalion, this place was more convenient than He Family Village. Ji Xiang's father was full of praise for it. To prepare meals for so many people, even the warehouse space at He Family Village was terribly tight, and ingredients and the like had to be transported in daily from the surrounding area. Now, there was no need for such trouble.

However, this estate also required many renovations. The tenant farmers of Cloud Mountain Temple and the able-bodied refugees undertook most of the labor, but the Zhao Battalion's household troops were not idle either; they also had to participate in the labor of building the camp.

The Zhao Battalion's system of rotating household troops on a fixed schedule was already established. Two companies were at Kong Family Village, one company inside Xuzhou city, three companies at the new refugee stockade, two companies at **** Town and Fang Village Market, and two companies were also garrisoned at the Xuzhou portion of that estate in Suzhou, Fengyang Prefecture.

Garrisoning various places and returning to the camp near He Family Village for training — a rotation was conducted every two months. Many felt that since these were merely places around Xuzhou, and the company commanders and squad leaders were all trusted men, wouldn't it be better to train on the spot and return once a year?

But this request was rejected by Zhao Jin. If the distances were not truly so far, he would even have preferred the household troops to rotate every ten days.

"... Now, everyone around Xuzhou holds the Zhao Battalion in awe and reverence. When these companies go out to various places, they are surely treated like superior beings. Each one is young and full of vigor; how could they withstand such flattery? If they ever learn to enjoy comfort and pleasure, and the superiors do not discipline them, how would the subordinates train diligently? If this continues, not only will people be lured away, but the unit will also rot away completely..."

Zhao Jin saw this very clearly, and spoke of it very clearly.

"... At this age, what hardship or trouble is there? Staying idle at He Family Village all day is certainly no good. Rotating back and forth is just right to serve as a drill for marching..."

Thanks to the three readers "User Lao Yang," "Mu Ming," and "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" for their tips, and thanks everyone for your monthly tickets and recommendation tickets. The second update is at ten o'clock.