Chapter 572: The Stick and the Sweet Date

So this was the kind of man Zhao Jin was — fierce and fearless, with such formidable strength at his command, his hands drenched in blood, his blade having claimed countless wronged souls, not to mention that hair-restoring formula, the renowned Hanjing Famous Liquor, the market and salt exchange that drew so many merchants from Qingjiangpu, and now from a desolate backwater like Xuzhou, such a figure had emerged, and Qingjiangpu had gone and provoked a tiger like this!

Why such a tiger had come to Qingjiangpu — the reason had also been dug up: the Great Cart Gangs of Shandong and Henan had bloodily massacred the independent carters of Xuzhou origin and even harmed their families, and this Zhao Jin had come to seek justice on their behalf!

With such righteous cause on his side, such overwhelming strength, and the government troops standing helpless, the turbulent undercurrents in Qingjiangpu's underworld and markets swiftly quieted. On the surface it seemed like an admission of fault, but in truth they had been cowed by the power of Zhao's Camp.

No matter how you put it, under Zhao's Camp's thunderous and lightning-swift methods, under the clean and bloody punishments, under the military and financial might laid bare, no one dared to refuse submission — otherwise the Great Cart Gang leaders beaten to death by cudgels, and the various headmen saddled with "enormous debts," would be their own examples.

Even the soldiers dared not move. The Huai'an Prefectural Office and Shanyang County Office had both shrunk back. Who would still step forward to play the hero? That Lian Ping'an had been scrambling back and forth — why not use his own granary guards to fight? And that Vice Director from the Revenue Branch Office — why had he never shown his face? Better to watch how the wind blows first!

This bunch of barbarians from Xuzhou — their methods were simply too ruthless, killing so many people, and then daring to toss a human head into Commissioner Lian's home. Before a tiger like this, no amount of caution was too much. One's own life was what mattered most.

Once you figured that out, it was much easier to swallow. Luck had fallen from the sky and let everyone become headmen and leaders. If these Xuzhou barbarians were pressing down on top, then let them press down — it wasn't any different from before. Wasn't there still a Great Cart Gang before?

That was how the underworld and markets saw it. Over at the prefectural and county offices, they were utterly dejected. The perks they used to enjoy were now gone, and that was truly hard to bear.

Yet barely into the second month, Cloud Mountain Cart Firm took the initiative to deliver that month's perks. Although the amount was the same as before, everyone from top to bottom in both government offices was astonished and overjoyed. The perks they had thought were lost had been regained. So these bandits and criminals from Xuzhou — no, these good fellows — also knew how to handle things properly. Their impression of Cloud Mountain Cart Firm and these Xuzhou men improved immensely.

If they had gone to curry favor with the officials right after defeating Qingjiangpu's underworld forces, the officials would not have seen it as respect or a favor, but would have taken it for granted, and might even have schemed to squeeze more benefits out of these outsiders. But now, having thought they wouldn't get a single coin, and then suddenly receiving the full amount as before — the astonishment and delight from top to bottom could well be imagined.

In less than ten days, they had crushed the underworld forces and made the local garrison shrink back. Zhao's Camp had proven its might. Before such formidable strength, any thought of extorting something was sheer delusion. Whatever they gave you was a reward, and you ought to feel grateful. This was exactly what Zhao's Camp made the officials understand.

Ever since the Shanyang Garrison Commander had returned the silver, Lian Ping'an, the Granary Commissioner of Qingjiangpu's Ever-Full Granary, had become an ant on a hot pan. He was at his wit's end. Lian Ping'an had considered writing to his powerful backers for help, but what he weighed was exactly what the Huai'an Prefect and Shanyang Magistrate had weighed — before any aid could arrive, he might well meet a violent death in his own home.

Every night, hoofbeats sounded outside his residence, and the riders kept joining in, shouting and laughing raucously. Those hired guards who had boasted of their prowess dared not show their faces at all. When pressed, they would rather quit. Night after night, the entire Lian household suffered this terror, their hearts pounding with fear.

With such torment, what point was there in writing letters? Moreover, Cloud Mountain Cart Firm, or whatever it was called — Zhao's Camp — had not affected any business inside or outside the granary. Everything was perfectly normal. The Great Cart Gang and underworld affairs were Lian Ping'an's own private dealings and had nothing to do with his backers. If his patrons learned the truth, would they replace him? Would they blame him? These were all things Lian Ping'an weighed.

Just when he had been living in terror for over ten days, a labor boss of considerable repute in the canal transport circles stepped forward, offering to mediate a settlement between Lian Ping'an and Cloud Mountain Cart Firm.

This canal transport boss had ties to the Smelling Incense Sect and called the water bandits and lake pirates his sworn brothers. He was also one of the major powers in Qingjiangpu. During the earlier assault on Cloud Mountain Cart Firm, this boss had been home for the New Year and had not yet returned, which made him the perfect peacemaker now.

Canal transport and the granary were intimately connected. Only with this man vouching did Lian Ping'an dare to go with any peace of mind. At the restaurant where the mediation was held, there was no one from Cloud Mountain Cart Firm. Instead, there was a Manager Zhou from Xuzhou.

This Manager Zhou showed none of the fierce, overbearing savagery one would expect of a Xuzhou man. He had the manner of a polite and smooth-talking shopkeeper. After exchanging a few words, Lian Ping'an finally relaxed, and then found himself not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

When you discover that the vicious enemies you've been fighting to the death have been doing large-scale business with you all along, you too would not know whether to laugh or cry...

As the Granary Commissioner of the Ever-Full Granary, Lian Ping'an's duties went beyond storing the government's tribute grain. All those overt "spoilage losses" and covert embezzlements also sat in the granary. This skimmed and pilfered grain was the perk shared by everyone in the canal transport hierarchy.

In the past, when too much grain accumulated, they often had no choice but to sell it dirt cheap, because it would easily rot and spoil if stored too long. Turning it into silver and copper cash was the top priority, so grain prices in Qingjiangpu were extremely low.

Of course, given the enormous quantities, even at cheap prices, everyone involved still raked in tremendous benefits. Yet ever since the canal transport circles developed the business of trading tribute grain for liquor, the grain had begun to find an outlet. But the scale had never been large, and they still had to share the profits with the canal transport people, so Lian Ping'an hadn't paid it much mind.

It was only when Hanjing Famous Liquor appeared that the thing truly became profitable. Lian Ping'an's grain flowed out like water and came back as large sums of ready silver. No bulk distilled liquor was seen in Qingjiangpu — only the silver and coin flowed back.

And besides the business of trading tribute grain for liquor, Xuzhou kept purchasing huge quantities of grain, like a bottomless pit. Because of the bulk sales and the decent prices, Lian Ping'an had been highly praised by his superiors and had also pocketed a great deal of benefit himself.

With the canal transport people acting as middlemen, Lian Ping'an was happy to earn easy, effortless silver. Still, he was intensely curious about why Xuzhou needed so much grain, because brewing liquor certainly couldn't use that much. But if it was for people to eat, this grain would be enough to feed tens or even a hundred thousand people. Xuzhou hadn't suffered any major disaster, so how could they need so much?

Today the answer was revealed, and it left Lian Ping'an dumbstruck. He had imagined that a business this large must have official backing — very likely connected to the Xuzhou Regional Commander, or perhaps even the handiwork of the Prince of Lu in Shandong, the Duke of Yansheng's estate, or several princely fiefs in Henan. How else could it have been pulled off?

But never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that this business was run by Zhao's Camp — by a gang of ferocious, blade-wielding, gun-toting villains. The two simply didn't connect. In his mind, martial brutes and thugs like Zhao's Camp only made money through murder, robbery, intimidation, and extortion. A refined, grand-scale operation like trading tribute grain for liquor, like absorbing vast quantities of grain — they simply couldn't handle it.

If this canal transport boss hadn't been so highly respected and reputable, and if that Manager Zhou hadn't produced several past account books, Lian Ping'an would have thought he was being conned by a conspiracy.

Zhou Xuezhi's purpose in coming to see Lian Ping'an was simple: from now on, Zhao's Camp would purchase grain directly from Lian Ping'an, shipping it by water and land to Xuzhou and Pizhou. The water transport would be contracted entirely to this labor boss. As for the land route, that went without saying.

Cutting out the middleman and dealing directly brought considerable benefits to both sides. The labor boss was presumably poaching business from his own canal transport circles — something both parties tacitly understood.

Only when the business talks reached this point did Lian Ping'an realize that the other party was, in fact, his own god of wealth. These past days of fighting to the death, the human head tossed into his courtyard, this gang of "villains" who had kept him in constant terror — they were the very god of wealth who had made him rich and earned him praise. And going forward, he might well earn even more.

The underworld side had indeed been a business too, and a lucrative one at that, with all sorts of conveniences besides. But now it was impossible to have both. Since there were other benefits to be had, he could only accept it.

Granary Commissioner Lian Ping'an was a seasoned and smooth operator. The moment he thought this through, he declared grandly right there in the restaurant: "The grain absolutely must be shipped by Cloud Mountain Cart Firm. I wouldn't trust anyone else!"

With that settled, the reconciliation was naturally sealed, to everyone's satisfaction. Then Zhou Xuezhi brought up the matter of opening a shop to sell Hanjing Famous Liquor and invited Commissioner Lian to take a share. Opening a shop was certainly easy enough and could be decided on the spot.

Dealing with Granary Commissioner Lian Ping'an was the same as dealing with the prefectural and county offices. If you had revealed yourself as a business partner from the start, you might have been treated cordially, but a big shot like Lian Ping'an would have realized you were an outsider with no backing and such a hugely profitable business, and might have entertained thoughts of swallowing it whole. But now, having witnessed Zhao's Camp's strength and ferocity, he would naturally cooperate and do business obediently.

As for that Vice Director at the Revenue Branch Office, Wang Zhaojing had long since sent a lavish gift. An official of his rank stood high above everyone in Qingjiangpu, with mountains of gold and seas of silver rolling through his hands. He cared nothing for the underworld's turf wars. With a generous gift delivered and respect shown, he simply couldn't be bothered with anything else.

Garrison Commander Qin of Shanyang also received his usual stipend, and Cloud Mountain Cart Firm had a share of dividends for him as well. For this, he could only offer endless thanks.

The Prefect of Huai'an, the Magistrate of Shanyang, the Garrison Commander of Shanyang, the Granary Commissioner — these were the main powers in Qingjiangpu's official circles. One by one, they signaled their acceptance of Zhao's Camp's entry into Qingjiangpu, which meant the overall situation was largely settled — because the underworld's martial forces had already been thoroughly beaten into submission...

Thanks to "Yuan Heng Li Zhen, Sweet Sugarcane, Tao Jiji," three old friends, for your tips. Special thanks to book friend "Sweet Sugarcane" for becoming an Alliance Master of this book. Thank you, thank you all for your monthly tickets and subscriptions, thank you all.