Chapter 533: Sniveling Cowards

"We must never become like Kong Family Manor, where tigers and wolves turned into cats and dogs. A man of such stature back then ended up kneeling before others, weeping and begging for mercy, even offering up his wife and children to trade for his own life. We cannot slacken. Kong Tiger of Kong Family Manor is a warning right before our eyes!" Wang Zhaojing raised his voice as he spoke; without realizing it, a note of urgency had crept in.

Zhao Jin drew a deep breath, rose from his seat, took a few steps, and slammed a heavy fist against the doorframe. "We cannot stop," he said with absolute finality. "We cannot slacken. We cannot wait. The Zhao Camp must fight without pause, must win without pause!"

Wang Zhaojing and Chen Sheng exchanged a glance. Wang Zhaojing strode toward the door, saying as he went, "Big Brother lays down the strategy, and we brothers go carry it out. Big Brother is never wrong on this. Your younger brother here has a few schemes as well; I'll tell Big Brother about them when the time comes."

Stepping out the door, Wang Zhaojing turned back and lowered his voice. "Just now, Daxiang and Stone spoke brilliantly — even I was stirred. What does Big Brother think?"

"I built the Zhao Camp so that everyone could live a little better, to protect the land and keep the people safe," Zhao Jin said gravely.

Wang Zhaojing smiled, cupped his fists in farewell, and before he had even turned around, asked, "And if Big Brother were speaking the truth?"

Zhao Jin fell silent for a moment, then said in an even lower voice, "The time is not yet ripe. Our strength is insufficient. We can only watch, only wait. Do not speak of doing — even speaking of it should be kept to a minimum."

The smile on Wang Zhaojing's face deepened. Cupping his fists, he said, "Though your younger brother holds an official degree, I have done too much bloody work, and I even have the heads of imperial secret police on my hands. Even if I wanted to break free, there is no way now. Whatever Big Brother wishes to do, your younger brother will follow with all his might."

"When words are spoken this plainly, they lose all charm. Go, go!" Zhao Jin waved him off fiercely. Wang Zhaojing laughed, gave another bow, and left on his own.

For some reason, that awkward exchange with Wang Zhaojing just now had lifted Zhao Jin's mood considerably. He turned and went back inside. Chen Sheng's face was still grim. "Who do we fight next?" he asked in a low voice. "We've grown too large now. The slightest misstep in judgment could bring catastrophe down on us. When that happens, even if we aren't ready, we'll have to act decisively."

"There are always enemies!" Zhao Jin bared his teeth in a grin.

The First Company of the personal guard had been waiting not far off. Once the dozen or so men Liu Yong had transferred over arrived, the hundred-odd troops assembled and headed toward the inn.

Ji Xiang's expression was grim. Zhao Jin was always cheerful with the brothers, but this time, inside that room, he had been stern more than once, and all that sternness had been directed at Ji Xiang. Ji Xiang felt deeply wronged. He had said nothing wrong. Big Brother's explanations had been, quite frankly, a bit of sophistry.

But there was no arguing with Big Brother. He could only obey. The resentment and anger in his heart could only be vented on someone else.

"Everyone staying in Courtyard A, Courtyard B, and Room Three — gag them all and tie them up. Kill without mercy if they resist. Kill without mercy if they refuse to follow our orders!" Ji Xiang gave the First Company their command.

The Zhao Camp had always been very restrained regarding the salt market and the regular market in and around He Family Village. The company permanently stationed there normally did not leave its post. Patrols and security were handled by able-bodied men carrying wooden clubs, most of whom had no special training and did not look particularly intimidating. This was to let the merchants do business with peace of mind.

So when Ji Xiang led a full company of household troops into the inn, bristling with killing intent, the entire place — upstairs and down — was thrown into alarm. Even people with no connection to the matter sent their own men over to peer around and see what on earth was happening.

Angry as he was, Ji Xiang still conducted matters methodically. The household troops did not simply smash their way in, because they had heard from the jianghu men under Liu Yong that government agents might not be much in a pitched battle, but in close-quarters combat within a room, they had real skill. Charging in recklessly could easily lead to trouble.

The First Company of the personal guard was the best-equipped unit in the entire Zhao Camp. Every man wore iron armor and carried a long spear and a heavy blade. Ji Xiang had also transferred ten men from the archery unit to follow him.

"You inside, listen well! You have a count of twenty to come out obediently with your hands on your heads. After twenty, every man left inside will be killed without mercy!" The household troops bellowed at the top of their lungs.

As soon as the words were shouted, the panic and commotion inside were clearly audible. Though it was already dark, the First Company of the personal guard all carried torches, lighting up the outside as bright as day. Looking out through the cracks in the door from inside, everything was perfectly visible. Armor and weapons glinted with cold light.

"D-don't attack! We're coming out! Everything can be discussed! Good sirs, we're all law-abiding commoners!" Before long, desperate pleas came from within the rooms.

"We're law-abiding folk, absolutely not criminals!" came a shout from one side, echoed by another from elsewhere.

"Coming out right now!" The voice from yet another spot was trembling.

Ji Xiang, his face-guard down and a long blade in hand, had already been prepared to attack. Hearing these utterly spineless pleas for mercy, he paused, then turned to Liu Yong and said, "These imperial secret police are way too sniveling. They could at least have shouted that they're government agents…"

"What did you expect them to be? They haven't left their rooms for three whole days. All they do is drink and sleep. According to our hidden sentries, they're too scared to come out. They were just waiting to leave the day after tomorrow, so they could tell their superiors they'd finished their reconnaissance." Liu Yong's reply was equally contemptuous.

Though the begging inside continued without pause, the loud counting began outside. At five, the door of one courtyard opened, and four or five men came scrambling and crawling out. They knelt on the ground without making a sound. At ten, another courtyard door opened. Three men stumbled out, dragging a fourth. Those standing nearby couldn't help but frown — the men reeked of alcohol from head to toe, nauseatingly so.

The third location remained silent. At fifteen, Ji Xiang waved his men forward. Several household troops lifted a battering ram and, with a shout, smashed the courtyard gate open and charged straight in. They found someone in the rear courtyard. The wall of this isolated courtyard bordered the outside — no wonder they'd gotten the idea to flee.

Seeing the Zhao Camp household troops charge in, one man who hadn't yet managed to climb the wall cursed, "It's not even twenty yet!" and then dropped to his knees with crisp efficiency. Another, who had just gotten onto the wall but hadn't yet flipped over, was nailed in the thigh by an arrow from the archer following behind. He fell from the wall with a shriek, howling in pain like a slaughtered pig while desperately begging for his life.

One man was still missing from this location, said to have already scaled the wall and fled. But as the household troops were escorting the prisoners out, they saw two mounted Tatar riders dragging a man toward them. The man was bound with a rope noose, struggling and writhing on the ground, but utterly unable to resist the horses' strength as he was dragged along.

Ji Xiang had expected a satisfying, cathartic slaughter. He had never imagined it would be this farcical. His irritation and frustration did not dissipate; instead, they flared into even greater fury.

"If he doesn't want to be dragged by the horse, then chop that leg of his off!" Ji Xiang roared.

A household soldier at his side acknowledged the order, drew his blade, and walked over. The man being dragged by the horse heard this and immediately stopped crying out in pain. He simply yelled, "Sir! This lowly one has important information to report! That one wearing a felt hat and sheepskin jacket, with a coin-shaped scar on his face — he and this lowly one are in the same group! He's in disguise! Only this lowly one knows! That's him! That's him!"

This was an unexpected twist. A man in the crowd of onlookers cursed angrily and turned to run. After two steps, he stopped, raised his hands high, and dropped straight to his knees. "This lowly one hasn't done anything!" he shouted. "I've just been wandering around the market these past few days!"

At this turn of events, Liu Yong's expression soured. He had thought no move by the enemy could escape his surveillance; he hadn't expected there to be a hidden sentry like this.

"Gag them all, tie them up, and take them away!" Ji Xiang ordered in a foul temper. This arrest had been nothing but a farce.

"Where did these thugs come from?"

"Have these wretches lost their minds? Coming to stir up trouble on the Zhao Camp's turf."

The merchants and travelers watching all chattered in unanimous agreement that this captured group was courting death. None of them knew that these cowardly, wretched men were imperial secret police sent from the Nanjing Brocade Guard's Thousand-Household Office.

Anywhere else, these secret police would have long since shouted out their identity. But here, they kept their mouths firmly shut. The reason was simple: they had been terrified by the murderous aura of the Zhao Camp. He Family Village's tight security had already given them a fright. Looking at these household troops, fierce as demons and ready to shoot arrows without a second thought, the secret police instinctively felt that if they revealed their identity, these lawless Zhao Camp men would not be intimidated in the slightest — they would instead immediately strike to kill.

By the time each of them was tied up and gagged, any chance to shout out their identity or scream for help was gone.

After being captured, they were not dragged behind horses. A large cart was found to carry them. Over the past few days, these secret police had wandered around and investigated to some extent, so they were fairly familiar with the layout of He Family Village. Seeing that they were heading neither toward the military camp nor toward the prefectural city, they couldn't help but wonder — were they being taken to some desolate spot in the wilderness to be slaughtered and buried?

At this thought, the secret police were overcome with terror. But they were bound too tightly, and could only writhe on the cart in a most unsightly manner.

The household troops marched ahead bearing torches. Ji Xiang and Liu Yong followed behind on horseback. The entire disgraceful display of the secret police, from start to finish, was witnessed by them.

Ji Xiang looked around, his face full of contempt. "Look at this trash," he said in a low voice. "One of our camp's household troops could take on three of them. Gather ten of our household troops, and they could slaughter a hundred of this trash clean. How many men does our Zhao Camp have? Big Brother is being far too cautious."

"Big Brother says do it, so we do it! What's your hurry?" Liu Yong stared straight ahead, his face expressionless, but his tone was stern.

Ji Xiang's face was full of defiance. He looked around again, gritted his teeth, and said in a low voice, "Big Brother isn't much older than us, but his temperament is like an old man's. Right now, in every direction, who can stand against us? If we really made our move…"

Liu Yong turned his head on the horse to look at him, his expression cold and severe to an extreme. Although Liu Yong was the youngest among the sworn brothers, and privately Ji Xiang treated him like a younger brother, Ji Xiang led troops in the field while Liu Yong handled covert affairs. In public and in private, Liu Yong seemed more like an attendant and steward. In their daily interactions, Ji Xiang couldn't help but adopt a somewhat condescending attitude.

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