Chapter 553: Seemingly Unintentional, Yet the Heart Is Stirred

Just now, this Yu Zhiyuan had been self-deprecating. Zhao Jin followed that lead and teased him with a remark. Yu Zhiyuan froze for a moment, then broke into helpless laughter, shaking his head as he laughed, his expression tinged with a hint of desolation. No matter how you put it, this matter had fallen through, and it had planted a thorn in people's hearts. Trying to slowly work toward it in the future would probably be troublesome too.

Before he could even turn around, Zhao Jin spoke again with a smile: "I like the Japanese swords and the fire lances very much. It's just that my brothers and I don't care for empty formalities and fancy flourishes. This gem-encrusted short fire lance doesn't hold much interest. Next time, bring a few of the larger, longer Western fire lances — new or old, either is fine. If it costs a lot, I can pay for them myself."

Yu Zhiyuan's eyes lit up. His mention of coming again had been from a merchant's standpoint. Xuzhou indeed held commercial opportunities. The Yu family had cotton cloth and a fleet of sand ships to transport and sell goods, which perfectly complemented the large market here at the He Village estate. With diligent management, making a fortune was all but guaranteed. But as for whether he could continue meeting Zhao Jin and the people around him, Yu Zhiyuan had held no hope. He had botched this meeting; the other party's impression of him was already terrible, and any further deepening of ties had seemed impossible.

By now, Yu Zhiyuan was already filled with endless regret. Originally, he had only wanted to find someone to exact revenge and vent his anger. But after arriving at He Village, what he saw and heard had both intrigued and shaken him. The patrol company that occasionally revealed its formidable edge, the cavalry squads that frequently passed by — they all displayed a kind of stern discipline and rigor he had never seen before. This made Yu Zhiyuan think a little more deeply.

Yet precisely because he couldn't control his emotions, and because of some inexplicable sense of pride and condescension, the whole meeting had turned into a complete mess. Although everyone had remained superficially cordial, Yu Zhiyuan knew he had utterly lost face. He could forget about benefiting in any way from the military might of the Zhao character battalion.

But Zhao Jin's final words rekindled hope in Yu Zhiyuan. This was the one and only thing he had done right since arriving in Xuzhou. He had considered that the Zhao camp was full of military men, and that Japanese swords and fire lances would cater to their interests. At the time, he had even wondered if he should give fewer firearms, never expecting that the short fire lance seemed to have been the right choice.

"That's easily done, easily done. My family has dealt with the Franks before, so this is quite simple. Even if we can't find them for a time in Songjiang Prefecture, we can go to Fujian and Guangdong to search. I will certainly ensure Village Chief Zhao is satisfied." Yu Zhiyuan spoke hastily. He felt that after he finished saying this, Zhao Jin's smile became a touch more cordial.

It was Ru Hui who saw the guest out the door. Outside the gate, Yu Zhiyuan took from his pouch a piece of mutton-fat white jade about an inch square and offered it to Ru Hui with a grin, but Ru Hui politely declined, merely offering a courteous reminder: "Since my master has spoken, I must trouble Young Master Yu to search diligently. There will surely be a reward."

Everyone in the Zhao character battalion knew of Zhao Jin's inexplicable passion for firearms. The attitude with which Zhao Jin studied that short fire lance this time reminded people of how he had looked at the Xu family bird gun by the Yellow River back then. Ru Hui naturally had to give Yu Zhiyuan a few pointers about this.

"Many thanks for Chief Steward Cao's guidance. I will certainly be diligent," Yu Zhiyuan said with a smile, but inwardly he was pondering: this Village Chief Zhao is so interested in Western firearms — besides fire lances, should I try to get him a cannon? But that would be far too sensitive...

Yu Zhiyuan and his steward departed. Zhao Jin and his companions, however, did not disperse to attend to their own affairs. The matters this Young Master Yu had spoken of, and his behavior after the meeting, were all quite interesting. After the young master left, everyone was in the mood to discuss it a little.

"If your family's fleet were burned before your very eyes, and you were threatened with the slaughter of your entire household, no matter how shrewd and composed you normally are, you probably couldn't keep your emotions in check. Once anger takes hold, your words and actions lose all measure," Liu Yong spoke up.

Zhao Jin nodded and said with a smile: "In the final analysis, it comes down to youth. Young and impetuous, thinking you're cleverer than everyone else, and then the chaos at home made him lose his composure. That's why he made such a laughingstock of himself. What does he take our Zhao character battalion for? A few words and we're supposed to cross the river to fight to the death?"

"Big Brother, that Young Master Yu is still a few years older than us, isn't he?" Wang Zhaojing teased.

"How can some rich young master compare to us brothers? How many great storms have we weathered? How many life-and-death battles have we fought? He can't compare," Zhao Jin said very calmly.

Everyone strongly agreed with what Zhao Jin said. Chen Sheng merely asked succinctly: "What do you plan to do about this man?"

The room fell silent. Everyone looked at Zhao Jin. The two matters Yu Zhiyuan had mentioned were too significant, yet knowing Zhao Jin as they did, he hadn't completely rejected what Yu Zhiyuan had proposed. With Zhao Jin's depth of thought and planning, that meant he surely had other arrangements in mind. Having been together for so many years, they were all very familiar with each other's ways of doing things.

Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then spoke: "First, get a clear picture of his background. That method we discussed about opening shops for reconnaissance — it can be applied to this man. Once we've clarified his background, we'll discuss the rest."

His companions nodded. Everyone already understood what they each needed to do. This, too, was a kind of tacit understanding. Zhao Jin stood up, took a few steps, and said in a deep voice: "We've already agreed to Wang Dagang's matter. We're going to Qingjiangpu, and of course, it's not just to seek justice for him. Qingjiangpu is the hub of the empire's entire canal transport system. And this matter of switching from canal to sea transport that Yu Zhiyuan mentioned is bound to involve many aspects of Qingjiangpu. On the grand scale, these things align."

At this point, Zhao Jin raised his voice slightly: "Switching canal transport to sea transport, eliminating the Lake Tai water bandits — these are things we cannot do now, but that doesn't mean we can't do them in the future. Since they are connected, we should begin making preparations."

Ru Hui had already returned to the hall. Hearing Zhao Jin's words, he said with a smile: "The master has great ambition, yet also possesses this grasp of the larger trends. This is truly remarkable, and it is what sets him above others."

"Spare the flattery. Both openly and covertly, quickly arrange for men to tail that Yu Zhiyuan and get a thorough understanding of him," Zhao Jin gave the order with a smile.

The so-called open investigation fell to Wang Zhaojing and Ru Hui's side; the covert side, naturally, was Liu Yong's Internal Guard.

The visitors before the new year were two: one was Wang Dagang, the other Yu Zhiyuan. The arrival of these two prompted the Zhao character battalion to make corresponding adjustments and responses. As for the others, it was merely the formalities of greeting and sending off guests.

Wang Dagang was assigned to the Student Soldier Company. That side involved fewer confidential matters. Studying and interacting in the Student Soldier Company would allow him to adapt to the Zhao character battalion's regulations and ways of doing things as quickly as possible. Then, when Zhao Jin needed him, he could also come over nearby to answer questions, allowing Zhao Jin and the others to gain a clearer understanding of Qingjiangpu.

According to reports from the men assigned to Wang Dagang, he was very agitated at first in the Student Soldier Company, feeling he had been sent to play with children. But after staying a few days, he settled down and devoted himself to learning. It was clear he was a man very eager to improve himself.

This assessment of "eager to improve" could also be interpreted as ambitious. That was fitting enough. Wang Dagang had stepped forward to organize the independent carters, which showed he still had aspirations and was not content with merely earning a living.

With Wang Dagang staying here, the various eyes and ears dispatched to Qingjiangpu also set out. For them, there was no talk of celebrating the new year. Although they couldn't stay in Xuzhou for the festivities, everyone's spirits were high. In the Zhao character battalion's system, no one worried about achievements going unrewarded; they worried about having no opportunity to achieve merit.

Previously, the Zhao character battalion had shown a tendency toward maintaining the status quo. Everyone was somewhat unwilling to settle for things as they were, but there was no way to change it. Now, however, everyone was stirred up. The Zhao character battalion was about to make a move on the wealthiest and most prosperous place north of the Yangtze — or perhaps one of the wealthiest and most prosperous places in the entire empire. In such a place, there would certainly be no shortage of entanglements, and even more opportunities for merit.

However, the men sent out were all from the most trusted group within the Zhao character battalion. In the Internal Guard, those with the status of household retainers were considered true insiders. Seventy percent of this group was drawn away at once, leaving Liu Yong and Lei Cai suddenly short-handed. On the open side, there wasn't as much to discuss — it was simply that the Cloud Mountain Trading Company and the Sun family's goods depots were going to open branch offices there.

On the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month, Zhao Jin gathered with his companions. On New Year's Eve, none of them went home to celebrate; instead, they made inspection tours of the Zhao character battalion's various encampments. Dong Bingfeng and Ji Xiang even split their forces into two routes — one went to the estate at the border of Suzhou and Xuzhou, the other to the Kong Village area, where Zhao battalion companies were stationed. Shi Manqiang went to several refugee estates. Everyone shared a common understanding: they would let Zhao Jin stay home for the new year.

"When he was little, it was so nice — always asking questions about everything. He's not even twenty yet, and already he's so silent." The Zhao family was gathered together for the new year. Seeing Zhao Jin's demeanor, He Cuihua couldn't help but grumble a bit. If Zhao Zhentang heard this grumbling, he would certainly scold her, saying the child was doing proper work and what business did a woman have running her mouth. After so many years, He Cuihua had long since learned this, so this time she was grumbling to Xu Zhenzhen.

Neither the Zhao nor the Xu family lacked money, and mother-in-law and daughter-in-law wouldn't quarrel over household chores, so there weren't many verbal conflicts. They could even chat privately a little.

Regarding Zhao Jin's silence, Xu Zhenzhen's attitude was of a different sort: "If my husband is fond of this, why not call the Xu family craftsmen over to study it and make a copy?"

In his leisure time, Zhao Jin was always turning that short fire lance over and over in his hands, examining it. His obsession with firearms was something Xu Zhenzhen understood somewhat. Given the Xu family's coal, iron manufacturing, and number of craftsmen, forging a few fire lances would be extremely simple. At first, Xu Zhenzhen thought Zhao Jin was unwilling to misuse manpower, but later she realized that wasn't it. Zhao Jin merely stopped at research and interest.

Still, what needed to be said had to be said. And Xu Zhenzhen could also see that Zhao Jin placed particular importance on this gem-encrusted, somewhat oddly shaped short fire lance.

"No rush. I thought I'd have to figure it out on my own, but I never expected someone would deliver a template. It's just not enough yet — I need to see the completely correct specifications before I start," Zhao Jin answered. Xu Zhenzhen was baffled by this, but matters like employing craftsmen to forge weapons weren't worth worrying over. After asking once, she let it drop.

On the matter of Zhao Jin studying the short fire lance, it wasn't just his mother and wife who voiced opinions. When his father, Zhao Zhentang, saw it, he was also quite displeased.

"What are you messing with these fancy things for? Didn't your second uncle ever tell you? In the official army, the ones carrying firearms are all worthless cowards."

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