Chapter 544: The New Year Is Coming

The second matter was internal. With the help of the clerks and runners of Xuzhou's one prefecture and four counties, as well as the network built by the Zhao Battalion itself, the Zhao Battalion had a relatively clear grasp of the family situations of its household troops, excluding the Inner Guard. Some families were doing quite well, but others were barely scraping by, and some had even encountered illness or disaster. For the latter two groups, the Zhao Battalion would offer condolences and support during every New Year and festival, arranging leave for the household troops to visit home and allocating supplies as aid, so they could serve in the Zhao Battalion with peace of mind.

This matter was extremely tedious. Dong Bingfeng, Ji Xiang, and Shi Manqiang all detested it. Chen Sheng and Wang Zhaojing were not particularly willing either, though they understood it had to be done. But Zhao Jin put tremendous effort into it, personally visiting dozens of households—an exhausting task. Liu Yong, however, was willing to do it, and he brought men from the Inner Guard to visit each home.

Tedious as it was, once these tasks were completed, the slightly restless morale of the Zhao Battalion as the New Year approached steadied considerably, and everyone returned to their normal state.

The third matter was the distribution of harvests from the various estates and stockades. The refugees had toiled hard for a year and were gradually settling down. Under a mix of coercion and inducement, they were finally beginning to think of South Zhili as home. One could not exploit one's own human resources too harshly; it was necessary to grant some grace and benefits—such as distributing meat, salted fish, and the like so they could have a good New Year, and even preparing some firecrackers and red paper to let them feel a bit of the festive atmosphere.

But such treatment was only for those refugee estates and stockades where people worked diligently. If a refugee settlement had seen many disturbances or a high number of runaways over the year, it would obviously receive no benefits, and might even have its stockade broken up and reassigned.

Over the course of a year or two, in the various places where refugees gathered, and among the tenant farmers on the Zhao Battalion's original lands, some outstanding individuals with ability, capability, and the skill to manage others had emerged. Such people also had to be reassigned; they could not be left in place to build up their own influence—rotation was necessary.

This matter was equally tedious. Fortunately, the Zhao Battalion had an arrangement that seemed crude and childish: in every refugee gathering point and every farming estate, they used small favors like grain and cloth to entice the refugees or tenants inside to inform and secretly report. Relying on this, the Zhao Battalion gained a practical grasp of every gathering point, avoiding total ignorance or last-minute investigations.

Tedious as it was, after the rewards, punishments, and rotations were carried out, the refugees' morale also steadied. They could no longer be called refugees now; they had become estate workers and tenant farmers of Zhao Jin.

Completing these three major tasks did not mean one could simply prepare for the New Year. After finishing the year-end accounts for their own side, they still had to distribute dividends to the various factions in Xuzhou. Everyone had been out wielding blades and riding horses, fighting to the death; they could not be shortchanged at year's end. Fortunately, over the past year, Xuzhou had truly amassed a large sum of silver, and there were all sorts of benefits coming in from outside, so paying out was effortless.

Xu Zhenzhen had originally wanted to return to Jingshan once, as a visit to her maiden home, but being pregnant made travel inconvenient. If she were the wife of some humble, small household, going back would have been simple enough—the Yellow River was frozen thick with ice, and the banks on both sides were flat, so a carriage or sedan chair ride would be steady and easy. But Xu Zhenzhen was Zhao Jin's wife, carrying Zhao Jin's first child. With the Zhao Battalion now such a vast enterprise, this matter had to be handled with great caution.

Even Wang Zhaojing took the initiative to advise Zhao Jin to prioritize absolute safety. Fortunately, Xu Bende, the head of the Xu family on the other side of the Yellow River, was good-natured. He simply brought his son Xu Housheng and the household servants directly to the prefectural seat of Xuzhou. They had a residence there anyway, so Xu Zhenzhen going there would count as returning to her maiden home.

Before the two were married, many in the Xu family assumed that a rough, martial gang like the Zhao Battalion would latch onto the Xu family and suck them dry. They never imagined that the Zhao Battalion would bring the Xu family so much business.

For example, the coast east of Huai'an Prefecture, the area around Haizhou, was a producer of Huai salt and had a huge demand for iron pots. Because salt was boiled in iron pots, and both seawater and salt corroded iron fiercely, the pots had to be replaced very frequently. Thus, the Xu family's iron pots had always seen bulk sales there.

However, the nearest route through the Grass Nest was originally controlled by the Feng family and harassed by the Grass Nest bandits. The Xu family could only sell their iron pots at low prices to merchant firms and warehouses connected to the Feng family and the salt fields. These middlemen took the lion's share of the profit, leaving the Xu family with only meager earnings. Now that the trade route was open and all the middlemen had been removed, the Xu family's profits had multiplied several times over. This was a benefit brought by the Zhao Battalion.

Moreover, the Zhao Battalion did not simply use the Xu family's resources for free. Although they requisitioned blacksmiths and iron materials, they always paid the market price, without the slightest ambiguity. Some people could not understand this, saying that since it was all meat stewing in the family pot anyway, why make such clear distinctions?

They were said to be one family, but in reality they were still two. The moment something is done for free and without profit, people become unwilling to give their full effort. The products of the Ming dynasty's official weapons workshops were a perfect example.

Zhao Jin kept everything clearly delineated, and matters were handled in perfect order. But Xu Zhenzhen's attitude toward this was rather subtle. When she married over, she had spoken with great confidence, yet deep down she still harbored some wariness. After seeing Zhao Jin's way of doing things, she feared even more that he would swallow the Xu family whole, skin and bones. But Zhao Jin had no such intention, and he kept things clearly separated, which in turn left Xu Zhenzhen somewhat dissatisfied. However, with the child in her belly now the priority, she could not spare much thought for other matters.

Although Xuzhou in the twelfth month was bitterly cold and frozen, and the salt market and other markets had all stopped, the area around He Family Village was constantly bustling with activity. Places like Little Stone Village, Tian Family Estate, and the Lin Family Enclosure were all in the midst of large-scale construction. Many houses and residences had been bought up at high prices, but after purchase, they were not directly occupied. Instead, everything was demolished and leveled. Boundaries were marked out, and materials were stored in warehouses near the market, ready for construction to begin once spring arrived. These were all branch offices of various merchant firms and warehouses, or residences for respectable, wealthy figures. The original village cottages and common houses naturally did not meet their requirements, and rebuilding from scratch did not cost much silver, so they simply sought convenience and comfort.

Wang Ziyang, the cattle and horse merchant who had struck it rich selling liquor, finally understood one thing: the root of his family's wealth was not on the grasslands, nor with the military officers at the border forts and passes, but in Xuzhou. Without Xuzhou's liquor, how could he have amassed such a fortune?

Furthermore, Zhao Jin's campaign to suppress the local underworld in Guide Prefecture had also shaken him deeply. At present, the Zhao Battalion's horses and some of its riders were all provided by Wang Ziyang. At the time, he had thought this was merely a matter of social favors, but later he realized it might be more than that. If he attached himself closely enough, his future returns might exceed what he was receiving now.

Wang Ziyang entrusted the business of selling liquor and buying cattle and horses on the grasslands to his trusted confidants, and he no longer handled the task of greasing the palms of border officers himself. He focused entirely on purchasing liquor and preparing goods in Xuzhou, planning to stay there long-term. For this purpose, he even specially recruited over twenty grooms skilled in caring for livestock, which was a great help to the Zhao Battalion.

The Zhao Battalion naturally welcomed this cattle and horse merchant's decision to settle. They specially allocated a tract of land near the Lin Family Enclosure to Wang Ziyang, allowing him to build his own large mule and horse market. They also promised that the grain and fodder from the various estates and stockades under the Zhao Battalion would be supplied to him first at fair prices. This treatment made Wang Ziyang feel that his choice had been the right one.

Toward the direction of Nanjing, the Zhao Battalion did not relax in the slightest. They had placed men on the several roads leading from Nanjing to Xuzhou to keep watch, with orders to report at the slightest sign of trouble. Although the other side could also go elsewhere and then circle around to Xuzhou, the necessary precautions still had to be taken.

The men the Inner Guard had sent to Nanjing, whether openly or covertly, had not managed to find out anything. They were unfamiliar with the place, and there were too many government runners, soldiers, and able-bodied men kept by noble houses. One careless move and they would be exposed with no way to escape. Yet excessive caution meant they could not uncover anything either.

The real progress was made by Wang Zhaojing and Sun Jia. Wang Zhaojing wrote letters to his family elders in Nanjing. Because of Wang Youshan's connections, these relatives and friends were very willing to help Wang Zhaojing. As for Sun Jia, he had many business partners in Nanjing city. Doing business openly in Nanjing inevitably meant dealing in one way or another with the agents of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so news was naturally plentiful.

"... Big Brother, the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard was originally run by a few chiliarchs, but recently they sent over an Assistant Commander. This man is named Ma Chonghao. According to what they say over there, this Ma Chonghao is part of Consort Zheng's faction. Now that the heir apparent has been decided, the Zheng family is losing influence. It may be that this Ma Chonghao could no longer hold his footing in the capital, so he came to Nanjing..."

"... Everyone in Nanjing, high and low, says this Ma Chonghao is sinister and shrewd. He makes no move normally, but when he does, he ruins families and destroys fortunes, leaving no chance for a turnaround. He doesn't seem that greedy for money, but once he strikes, he flays a man to the bone..."

"... It's said that when this Ma Chonghao first arrived in Nanjing, the several chiliarchs didn't take him seriously, but they were soon brought to heel, utterly submissive, not daring to vent their resentment openly. A few days ago, however, word leaked out that the chiliarchs were all secretly very pleased, because Ma Chonghao had suffered a setback..."

Wang Zhaojing summarized the information he and Sun Jia had gathered. The brothers sat below, all listening with rapt attention. When Wang Zhaojing finished speaking, everyone's expressions turned solemn and grave.

"It's hard to say about those first two agents, but this latest wave was definitely instigated by this Ma Chonghao—either his own idea, or the intent of the people behind him," Zhao Jin concluded.

Everyone nodded in agreement. Those few Embroidered Uniform Guard chiliarchs in Nanjing had always been there. If they wanted to make a move, they wouldn't have waited until now, and the earlier they acted, the easier it would have been. It made no sense for them to come sniffing around only after the Zhao Battalion had swelled to this extent.

"We have no grudge against him, and our Xuzhou is far from Nanjing. Why would this man set his sights on us?" Shi Manqiang asked sullenly.

Ji Xiang sneered and said, "What else could it be for? Silver, of course. Our distillery, this salt market, these great farming estates stretching across prefectures—which one isn't a fat piece of meat? And we're just a bunch of inconspicuous local thugs. Someone must be thinking of taking a bite..."

Thanks to old friends "Feiran Ge" and "Yuan Heng Li Zhen" for their tips. Thank you all for your monthly tickets and subscriptions. Thank you, everyone.