Chapter 549: Another New Year Approaches

Although he had set the year after next — the forty-seventh year of Wanli — as the time to travel to the capital for the examinations, Wang Zhaojing had hardly touched the Four Books and Five Classics, nor had he attended any literary gatherings. Instead, he had gathered a great many military texts to read, from Sun Tzu's Art of War to the Jixiao New Treatise — a vast and motley collection. According to Scholar Cai and the others, the Wang family boy had no ambition, wasting his time on useless, idle books and giving himself over to despair.

Wang Zhaojing's neglect of proper pursuits did not stop there. Whenever merchants came from other regions, Wang Zhaojing would always drag Liu Yong or Lei Cai along and invite the merchant to tea. Over tea, they would talk of everything under the sun, and afterward he would record something in a notebook. By now he had filled a whole shelf.

Having read so many miscellaneous and idle books, and having talked so much with traveling merchants from all directions, his breadth of knowledge was no longer what it once was. According to his companions' assessment, Wang Zhaojing's bearing was now growing more and more like that of Ruhui.

The expressions of the companions in the room were all solemn. After hearing Wang Zhaojing out, Zhao Jin nodded and said, "Cutting off a man's road to wealth is like killing his parents. Qingjiangpu is a place of mountains of gold and seas of silver, with every side entangled in deep-rooted connections. That Wang Dagang only wanted to get some carting work, and so many were killed for it. If we try to reach our hand in, there will certainly be people who will fight us to the death!"

"Do we take it on or not?" Chen Sheng asked curtly.

"We take it on. Of course we take it on. This is the moral high ground. We are standing up for our fellow countrymen and upholding justice. The victims have even come to my door to beg. If we ignore them, wouldn't that betray my name as Zhao the Security Chief, whose righteousness reaches the clouds!" Zhao Jin spoke as if in jest, but his expression was grim.

After saying this, Zhao Jin paused and swept his gaze over his companions. "Brothers, this is a fine opportunity for us to break the deadlock. Take Qingjiangpu, turn Qingjiangpu into what Xuzhou is now, and we can climb to the next level — no, several levels. By then, we will be completely different from what we are today. We can scheme for more and greater things. So this time, we must go all out. Does everyone understand?"

The group nodded solemnly. A smile finally appeared on Zhao Jin's face. He softened his tone and said, "Before, we complained of having nothing to do, were too cautious to act, thought we should hold our ground for a few years, and worried that the Zhao Battalion's sharp edge would be worn away. Now that a matter has come knocking, we can cast all those earlier concerns aside. It's time to unleash our hands and feet!"

Smiles appeared on everyone's faces. Even Chen Sheng's expression held a hint of satisfaction. They were all young men, and the Zhao Battalion was in a phase of rapid ascent. Staying fixed in place and standing still — no one found that pleasant.

"Xiaoyong, keep a close watch on Wang Dagang. Before we make our move, nothing must happen to him. The covert scouting and probing of Qingjiangpu must also begin. Xiaoyong, you will take charge of this. Zheng Quan's side, You Zhenrong's side — use whoever can be used. The overt connections must also be set in motion. Zhaojing, you will take charge of this. Mister Cao's side, Uncle Sun at Yutou Town, the various merchants in our salt market and trading fair, even those figures on the official side — all must be stirred into action." Zhao Jin laid out the arrangements in a deep voice.

The smiles on everyone's faces were replaced by expressions of excitement. At last, they were going to expand outward. Zhao Jin turned to Dong Bingfeng and said gravely, "Bingfeng, you must hurry back to the Xuzhou Guard. Use your father's connections, then bring in Commander Ge, Commander Zhou, and the others. Make a count of all the surplus men from our Xuzhou Guard who are out making a living elsewhere — where they are, what they do, their full names. We must know all of it. Take clerks and scribes with you, and be sure not to miss a single one."

Dong Bingfeng listened with rapt attention, afraid of missing a single word. After saying this, Zhao Jin paused. He had just turned toward Ji Xiang and Shi Manqiang, whose faces were full of anticipation, but then turned back to Dong Bingfeng and said, "Since we're doing this, let's do it thoroughly. How many surplus men of the Xuzhou Guard have yet to leave? If you can get a number, tally that as well. The detailed counts of surplus men both away and at home for the Xuzhou Left Guard and the Pizhou Guard — if you can get those, get them too. If those commanders are willing to help, silver and the like are all negotiable."

"Big Brother, what do we do?" Ji Xiang could not help but ask. Shi Manqiang's face bore the same expression.

Zhao Jin patted Dong Bingfeng on the shoulder, signaling him not to be too tense, then turned his head to look at Ji Xiang and the others and said with a smile, "What do we do? First, have a good New Year. Second, train the household troops well. As for you, Daxiang, don't be impatient. In this Qingjiangpu affair, your job is to watch the house well!"

At these words, Ji Xiang's face immediately fell, while Shi Manqiang was beaming with joy. Everyone in the room could not help but burst into laughter. Zhao Jin also smiled and waved his hand, saying, "We must now pull back the companies stationed at the various manors. For the forces guarding each place, we'll use local Xuzhou martial men and rotating refugee youths. We need to get the companies reorganized first, then we can talk about the rest."

Ji Xiang and Shi Manqiang immediately stood at attention and acknowledged the order. They could certainly tell the difference between a joke and a command.

"It's getting late. Each of you go inspect your assigned areas, then go home and spend time with your parents. Whatever we do, it starts after the New Year." Zhao Jin concluded the day's matters.

"This New Year's going to be a thrill!" Ji Xiang clenched his fist excitedly and muttered. Hearing this, Shi Manqiang bumped him hard. The companions burst into laughter again, the atmosphere heated.

Following the usual order and custom, Chen Sheng was the last to leave. Just before stepping out the door, Chen Sheng spoke: "Daxiang and Shitou are in such high spirits. Don't let them down. This time, I'll stay behind in Xuzhou to watch the house."

Zhao Jin looked at Chen Sheng and shook his head, smiling. "Dasheng, if we hadn't grown up together, and if you didn't have so little beard on your face, anyone seeing your temperament and manner would think you were already thirty or forty years old."

Chen Sheng frowned. Even in front of Zhao Jin, he made no effort to hide it. Zhao Jin shook his head again. Chen Sheng was stern and humorless, his character grave and solemn. That chubby boy who used to carry a wooden stick around every day looking for someone to spar with had actually turned into this — no one could have imagined it.

"This time, all of us brothers are going. Even Mister Cao is going. We'll leave this place in the care of the family elders and Mister Zhou!" Zhao Jin said with gravity.

Chen Sheng's eyes narrowed. Sternly, he said, "Are we abandoning even our very foundation? Without this place, we are nothing!"

"Who can take Xuzhou from us now? No matter who tries to seize the opening, we can turn back and wipe them out." Zhao Jin said this first. Seeing that Chen Sheng was about to argue, Zhao Jin continued, "Qingjiangpu is one of the most prosperous places under heaven. Countless eyes in the court and the provinces, in the official world and the rivers and lakes, are fixed on it. If we directly march in with the Zhao Battalion's three thousand household troops and start a big fight, that would be outright rebellion. The court would immediately send a great army to encircle and destroy us. Besides, do the various manors and stockades not need household troops to guard them?"

"Didn't you say...?"

"I said all of us brothers must go. I did not say all the household troops must go. The Zhao Battalion's main force is momentum — momentum can press and coerce people, but it cannot accomplish the thing itself. How to borrow that momentum to accomplish our goal is something we must do ourselves. The Qingjiangpu of today can be compared to the Xuzhou of those years. I'm afraid we brothers will have to take the field with real blades and real spears!" Zhao Jin grew bold and spirited at his own words.

Chen Sheng nodded, the sternness on his face easing a little. Only then did he say, "That is more prudent."

"Xuzhou is the place where we built our start, but looking at the bigger picture, all of Xu-Huai is our foundation. If we cannot take Qingjiangpu, if we lack a stable and prosperous hinterland at our rear, what good is staying in Xuzhou?"

"A few days ago you were lecturing Ji Xiang. Now you're the one saying the things he said. I still remember you saying that we should sink our roots down and do the work, but not speak of it." Chen Sheng said slowly.

Zhao Jin nodded with a wry smile. A so-called forthright friend must be exactly what Chen Sheng was. It might not always be comfortable being with him, but Zhao Jin knew that this was the most trustworthy, the most reliable of good friends and brothers.

The next day, fast riders went out from He Family Village in all directions, heading to the places where Zhao Battalion companies were stationed to carry out temporary adjustments and rotations. The blacksmith works jointly run by the Xu and Shi families also began inspecting and repairing weapons and armor. The patrol frequency of the mixed militia increased, and the appearance of hidden sentries and river-and-lake men also grew denser.

No one paid much attention to this move by the Zhao Battalion, nor did anyone find it unusual, because none of the Zhao Battalion's actions were ever fixed. Sudden changes were frequent. At first, onlookers were nervous and those involved were flustered, all thinking some major event was about to happen. Only after experiencing it time and again did they realize that this was simply how the Zhao Battalion operated day to day.

Some people sneered in secret, saying that young men handled affairs without steadiness. Raising household troops was for slaughter and desperate battle — every move should be solemn. Yet they had turned it into such a farce. Even Zhao Zhentang, Chen Wu, and Dong Jike had come specially to speak about this matter, telling them not to act recklessly.

But Zhao Jin had always persisted in his own approach. He did not hide it from his companions and elders: he wanted the Zhao Battalion's household troops to grow accustomed to these sudden changes, and he wanted the people around who took note of the Zhao Battalion to grow accustomed to them as well. That way, the Zhao Battalion's main force would not fall into chaos from a sudden enemy raid or a sudden deployment, would not be caught off guard. Moreover, those observers around them — even hidden spies — would find it very difficult to deduce what the Zhao Battalion was about to do from its daily actions.

Once this reasoning was laid out, everyone was thoroughly convinced. Wang Zhaojing even wrote in a letter to his father, Wang Youshan: "Brother Zhao has not read military texts, yet understands the art of war. This shows that the saying of 'innate wisdom' is not without cause, or perhaps he is a heaven-sent genius." The term "innate wisdom" is a Buddhist phrase referring to wisdom brought from a past life. Used here, it was of course merely a metaphor; Wang Zhaojing probably never imagined the connection between that word and Zhao Jin.

Because unsignaled, unpatterned mobilizations and arrangements happened so often, everyone had long since grown accustomed to them. No one suspected that certain matters were now being set into intense, urgent motion.

On the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, Wang Dagang, who had been at home for two days, was driven out by his parents. Just as he thought he would have to sleep on the streets, he was picked up by Internal Guard household troops who had been watching him all along and brought back to He Family Village.

The Wang family elders had made it very clear: your elder brother has already done plenty for you. The family owes you nothing more. Don't stay here wasting grain. This family property has nothing to do with you. In a guard military household, no one found this unfeeling; it was taken as perfectly natural.

Yet as Wang Dagang walked out the door, his father still secretly pressed a few hundred copper cash into his hand. The coins were glossy and bright with oil — one look told you the old man had saved them for a very long time, often rubbing and counting them. This was probably all the savings he had. Clutching those copper coins, Wang Dagang wept the whole way.