Chapter 537: Trouble Will Come to You

Zhao Jin's words only deepened Lei Cai's shame, but he still finished relaying the news he'd gotten from Nanjing: "Big Brother, the Nanjing Brocade Guard has been making a lot of moves lately. The constables under them aren't loafing around like they used to. I heard a Commandant-Administrator came down from the capital, and some wealthy households have been squeezed for quite a bit."

Hearing this, Zhao Jin fell silent for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid this is the fallout from those two constables at the very beginning. Otherwise, it's come far too much out of nowhere."

Seeing Lei Cai's face fill with self-reproach as he seemed about to speak, Zhao Jin spoke first: "You didn't do a single thing wrong in this matter. Had I been there, I would have killed them just the same."

After the brief report, Lei Cai volunteered to stand the night watch. Zhao Jin went home early. Since Xu Zhenzhen became pregnant, the maids around her, either with tacit permission or their own designs, had been somewhat inclined to flaunt their charms in front of Zhao Jin. But Zhao Jin remained utterly indifferent. Perhaps Xu Zhenzhen gave some instructions, for things gradually quieted down.

Xu Zhenzhen hadn't really had much leisure since becoming pregnant. She still worried over the Xu family's eldest branch affairs and kept a close eye on Xu Housheng's studies. Once it grew dark, she would rest and conserve her energy in her room. Every night when Zhao Jin returned, he would go and visit her.

Zhao Jin had never been married before and had no experience of husband-and-wife life. Xu Zhenzhen's mother had passed away early, and she had been managing the household all along, so she likewise had little sense for such things. The two of them would sit facing each other every night. After exchanging greetings, they would discuss their respective affairs. It didn't feel like a household, but more like a government office—this was a private joke among the maids.

Jokes aside, Zhao Jin and Xu Zhenzhen were naturally far closer to each other than to anyone else. After the two finished discussing the day's affairs, they would simply sit quietly together. For both of them, it was a rare moment of rest.

Xu Zhenzhen leaned against the headboard. Zhao Jin sat to the side, yawning incessantly, in a very languid state. Xu Zhenzhen suddenly smiled and asked, "Does my husband find things very dull, unable to muster the energy for anything?"

"The things to be done these few years truly won't see much change. Indeed, I can't seem to muster any drive." Zhao Jin answered with a wry smile.

Xu Zhenzhen chuckled softly a few times and said, "Although your humble wife busies herself all day with household duties and the Xu family matters, I still know that my husband's situation is growing ever larger, a momentum that is thriving and on the rise. How is it that you suddenly can't muster any drive?"

"The current situation has already reached a limit. If we continue advancing like this, I fear it will invite disaster. We can only maintain the status quo. But with the Zhao Character Battalion as it is, if we don't strive to advance, it will very easily fall into decay." Zhao Jin knew these words would not be spread outside if spoken to Xu Zhenzhen.

Hearing this, Xu Zhenzhen was startled and quickly asked, "So many able-bodied men, such a grand situation—could it truly be completely ruined? Wouldn't that be too great a pity?"

"Ruined it won't be. At worst, new blood replaces the old, and the household troops in the camp are sent to manage affairs in various places. It's just a pity to lose this keen edge." Zhao Jin said with a sigh.

The Zhao Character Battalion had so many estates and properties in Xuzhou and the surrounding areas. Everywhere lacked trusted Zhao Character Battalion personnel to oversee and manage them. And there was no shortage of young, able-bodied men wanting to join the Zhao Character Battalion. Under the Zhao Character Battalion's institutional system, as long as there were no fundamental changes, maintaining combat effectiveness was not difficult. The only pity was that combat experience would need to be forged anew.

Xu Zhenzhen was silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a soft laugh. She laughed for a while before saying, "My husband is simply feeling bored because he has nothing to do."

Zhao Jin was taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh as well, yet he did not deny Xu Zhenzhen's words. These past days, when he supervised the training of the household troops and student troops, his hand was always too heavy—a manifestation of this state of idleness and boredom. A warrior ought to fight and struggle on the battlefield, or else plan for expansion; even defending territory and guarding it would be fine. But now he could only bitterly cultivate internal strength, wearing down the fierce, keen edge nurtured over these two years. It was indeed stifling and frustrating.

However, Zhao Jin also knew this was necessary. The Zhao Character Battalion's existence had always walked a gray line. Its strength could already be called astonishing. If it advanced even one step further, it would be completely exposed to the view of everyone under Heaven. Even if they wanted to hide, it would be extremely difficult. In conflicts over interests on a larger scale and at a higher level, there was no way to hide, and others would not allow you to hide.

Even to his own partners, Zhao Jin had not spoken too much of these thoughts. But on this occasion, he could speak in somewhat greater detail.

After Zhao Jin finished saying this, he pondered for a moment, then added, "Actually, it's not that we can't act outwardly, but that we cannot act outwardly on our own initiative. If the Zhao Character Battalion proactively goes out to fight and seize, it will be seen as wolfish ambition and insatiable greed. If there were some kind of justification, then we would have the proper standing and reason, and no one could say anything."

At this point, Zhao Jin himself gave a few bitter laughs and said self-deprecatingly, "Now that the Zhao Character Battalion's might is famed far and wide, who else would dare to provoke us?"

His words had barely faded when Xu Zhenzhen covered her mouth and laughed quietly. Zhao Jin looked over in surprise. Xu Zhenzhen leaned languidly against the headboard and said with a smile, "My husband is trapped within the situation, a player who is blind to the game. With the Zhao Character Battalion's scale and prestige, even if you don't go looking for trouble, trouble will come looking for you."

Zhao Jin froze, a look of sudden realization dawning on his face. Xu Zhenzhen continued, "Right now in South Zhili, is there any power larger than our Zhao Character Battalion?"

Without waiting for Zhao Jin to answer, Xu Zhenzhen went on, "Though your humble wife dwells long within the inner chambers, I still know that north of the Yangtze in South Zhili, there is none that compares to the Zhao Character Battalion. With such a colossal entity present, who can avoid it? What affair can be conducted openly and brazenly without having to fear such a colossal entity?"

Before she even finished, Zhao Jin slapped his forehead with his hand. Xu Zhenzhen spoke her final conclusion: "My husband, matters will come to find you. It is a situation where success will come naturally when conditions are ripe. Why must you be restless and worried?"

A smile surfaced on Zhao Jin's face, gradually turning into audible laughter. But what finally solidified on his face was a bitter smile. "I've made a fool of myself before my wife. I am outside, and my wife is within, yet my wife sees outside matters more clearly than I do. That said, sitting here waiting for trouble to come knocking is truly agonizing."

Xu Zhenzhen's smile was deeply meaningful. She said leisurely, "My husband is so young. What can't you afford to wait for?"

For a yamen like the Nanjing Brocade Guard, where there was much money and few matters, entering the eleventh month was practically celebrating the New Year. Everyone began to slack off on rotation duties and started stocking up on New Year's goods, drinking and gathering with one another, making merry all the way until after the first month of the coming year.

This year, by all rights, should have been the same, because there were no major cases and everything was very peaceful. Yet now, no one dared to leave their post without permission, all staying on in fear and trepidation.

The reason for such caution was that the several Chiliarchs had been in very poor moods lately. In the past, they would turn a blind eye to the men below, but now they wouldn't let even the slightest mistake pass, making life extremely hard for everyone. Some with well-informed sources had ferreted out the news: it was said that Commandant-Administrator Ma Chonghao had flown into a towering rage at the Chiliarchs over a certain matter. The Chiliarchs had no recourse but to vent their anger downward.

Even more news had spread, saying that Commandant-Administrator Ma Chonghao no longer even visited the Eighteen Pavilions along the Qinhuai River. All day long, he was in the Brocade Guard office rectifying camp affairs. To think—refusing to live the good life, refusing to enjoy idle blessings, and instead making things so miserable for everyone. One truly wonders how this man's mind works.

"When I was in the capital, I'd toss this badge on my belt to the ground, and whichever family's daughter or wife I said I'd sleep with, that family would obediently deliver her to my door. Whichever family's wealth and property I said I wanted, that family would obediently offer it up. I never imagined that coming to your Nanjing, the rules have all gone to hell. Sent to a prefectural city to investigate a case, and they actually got beaten up and sent back, and you didn't even dare let out a fart! If word of this spreads across the land, I'll be laughed to scorn by brothers everywhere else!" Ma Chonghao roared in the main hall of the Brocade Guard. Below him, the several Chiliarchs listened with their heads bowed, faces covered in dust and grime.

As soon as Ma Chonghao finished venting his spleen, one of the Chiliarchs below raised his head, his face full of righteous indignation, and said, "Commandant must stand up for your subordinates! That scoundrel in Xuzhou is utterly lawless. He struck our junior brothers, but in truth, he struck the face of us all. A local thug from Xuzhou who's never seen the world truly thinks he's the biggest under Heaven. Commandant must teach them a lesson."

"All of you, go back and get your own messes in order. If such disgraceful matters happen again, none of us need hold these posts anymore. Don't be busy thinking only about the New Year every day!" Ma Chonghao did not take up that line of talk, merely shooing them away impatiently.

The Chiliarchs, looking utterly miserable, bowed and took their leave. Once they were out of the main hall area, someone glanced back and his expression immediately changed. He cursed bitterly: "He sings his own tune loud enough to shake the heavens, but the moment it's about stepping up, damn it, he's silent too. A worthless coward with nothing but lip service!"

The several men chimed in one after another, cursing and grumbling as they left. They weren't worried about anyone informing on them. Every part of this Nanjing Brocade Guard was staffed with their own men. That Ma Chonghao hadn't brought many people with him.

Having sent the Chiliarchs away, the irascibility on Ma Chonghao's face had vanished, replaced by dejection and gloom. He was silent for a moment, then said, "Tell me again what you saw and heard over there. Don't omit a single detail."

Brocade Guardsmen from south to north all lived in comfort and ease. Compared to ordinary people, they tended to be plumper and fairer-skinned, looking more like wealthy merchants than government officers. Yet the middle-aged man standing behind Ma Chonghao had a somewhat swarthy complexion and a rather sturdy, solid build, which made him look more like a traveling merchant. If this middle-aged man walked through a crowd, he would never be noticed—he was simply too ordinary a person, with nothing eye-catching about him. However, dressed in the Flying Fish Robe with the Embroidered Spring Saber at his waist, he seemed utterly out of place.

No one dared to treat this man with the slightest negligence. He was one of the people Ma Chonghao had brought from the capital. To this day, no one even knew his real name; they simply called him politely "Big Brother Ma."

"... That Zhao Jin's subordinates are called household troops. In this humble officer's assessment, these household troops are in no way inferior to the personal guard household troops of military commanders anywhere in the Great Ming. They are raised to be robust and strong, trained to be elite and skilled. In dispersing, advancing, and coordinating strikes, they are the very model of first-rate soldiery. There are a full three thousand such men..."

Thank you everyone. There will be a separate chapter note later.