Chapter 573: The Locals Deserve Their Share

From start to finish, it took less than fifteen days, yet the vast Qingjiangpu was now firmly in hand. No one resisted the entry of the Zhao Battalion anymore.

Of course, the Zhao Battalion still needed to establish its own order in Qingjiangpu, to make the multitude of merchant firms and warehouses, to make the hundreds of thousands of common folk truly recognize the Zhao Battalion's presence, and from the bottom of their hearts feel awe and obedience. All this would take time and an immensely complex handling of affairs, but the broad outline had already taken shape.

After the two great carting gangs of Shandong and Henan collapsed, the carters did not live the good days they had imagined. They thought that without the carting gangs' exploitation, they could get higher rates, could get the rates the carting gangs had originally set. By the simple reckoning of many, if they took jobs at a price ten percent lower than the carting gangs, but now no longer had to pay the customary fees, they would still end up earning much more.

To their surprise, the rates offered by the brokers were even lower than what the carting gangs had left them after their skimming. Take it or leave it — with so many carters waiting for work, did they really think they were short one man? Try to argue, and you'd be asking for a beating. A lone carter against the brokers, who kept their own hired thugs and guards.

In the two days after the Henan and Shandong carting gangs fell apart, there were brokers who wanted to round up the carts and carters to form their own fleets, and carters of high standing who wanted to build a new carting gang themselves.

But once the Zhao Battalion revealed its fearsome edge, everyone shrank back. And then the carters realized they had only one place to go: Cloud Mountain Carting.

Several of the larger brokerages were on tenterhooks. They found Cloud Mountain Carting's terms far too harsh, yet they dared not offend a power as overbearing as the Zhao Battalion. So they kept silent. Without the seasoned, well-connected brokerages stepping forward, your cart fleet wouldn't have nearly enough hauling and porterage work. In the end, they'd have to sit down and talk. Of course, if the Zhao Battalion resorted to brute force and high-handed pressure, they'd just have to grit their teeth and accept it — but that was the very last resort.

To everyone's surprise, the Zhao Battalion never came looking for trouble with them. They simply gathered up the carts and carters, and then, contrary to what the brokerages had expected, there was no shortage of work. Everyone threw themselves into a frenzy of activity.

Cloud Mountain Carting's first big job was hauling grain to Xuzhou. Then, because the Ever-Full Granary was building new storehouses and needed things moved and shifted, a huge number of carts were kept endlessly busy there.

These two jobs alone were enough to fill Cloud Mountain Carting's belly. The brokerages couldn't even find carts to take on their work. What the brokerages never expected was that, without the Zhao Battalion using any force, the first to cave in would be themselves. To keep their businesses going, they had no choice but to hold their noses and operate according to Cloud Mountain Carting's terms.

Everything was simply too efficient. Every faction in Qingjiangpu marveled at the Zhao Battalion's speed. They were clearly a newly risen power, yet they operated with the ease of old hands. Qingjiangpu was a place of extraordinary bustle, where everyone was ceaselessly busy, but compared to these men from Xuzhou, they seemed like sluggish loafers.

As Cloud Mountain Carting swiftly swung into action, Cloud Mountain Wineshop also began to set up. Only then did everyone realize that the famed Han Well Fine Liquor was actually a product of this very Zhao Battalion. This left them astonished, and also puzzled. Just what kind of power was this Zhao Battalion? They wielded blades and spears, fighting and killing, yet they also handled all kinds of business so adeptly. It was truly a novelty.

While the legitimate trades were all abuzz, the rivers-and-lakes underworld of Qingjiangpu remained quiet. What baffled the newly risen bosses was that the Zhao Battalion behind Cloud Mountain Carting, having clearly established its dominance, was in no hurry to lay down rules for them, collect protection cuts, or plant its own men among them. It was as if they were invisible.

Could it be that the Zhao Battalion only dealt in big business and looked down on their small-time operations? If so, wasn't that even better? Some clung to wishful thinking, while others grew more and more terrified, feeling a blade hanging over their heads, not knowing when it would fall. Still others saw a wealth of opportunities and wanted to go pay their respects to the Zhao Battalion, to work their connections. Now that they had just arrived in Qingjiangpu, they were surely strangers in a strange land and in need of local natives. If they succeeded in offering their services, their future prospects would be immense. But when they called, they were told that visitors were not being received for the time being.

Over at Cloud Mountain Carting, it was true that no one was receiving guests. Wang Dagang was handling the carting firm's day-to-day affairs. Zhou Xuezhi was leading a group of managers and shopkeepers, busily setting up storefronts. And Liu Yong was arranging for men from the Internal Guard to infiltrate Qingjiangpu. The Internal Guard's manpower was limited, which kept Liu Yong frantically busy.

As for Zhao Jin, Wang Zhaojing, Ji Xiang, and the rest, they had returned early. When they left, they took all the archers and the cavalry with them, because many among them were of Tartar stock from the steppe, and being watched by those with ulterior motives would only bring trouble.

After Zhao Jin and his group returned to Xuzhou, they were met by a crowd at Fangcunji, where Jiang Mutou was based. With overwhelming enthusiasm, they were escorted back to the He Estate, where even more people were waiting.

In the past, whenever something happened, people from every corner of Xuzhou would come. Now, there were also many from Pizhou and Guide Prefecture. Anyone who considered themselves close to the Zhao Battalion, and who felt they had some strength of their own, had flocked over.

The reason was simple. The Zhao Battalion had stirred up such a massive commotion in Qingjiangpu that word had long since been sent back to Xuzhou. Once the news arrived, the whole of Xuzhou was instantly in an uproar. The news spread throughout the Zhao Battalion's sphere of influence.

Lord Jin had taken Qingjiangpu! What kind of place was Qingjiangpu? It was a place a hundred, a thousand times more prosperous and wealthy than Yutou Town. That place was a mountain of gold and a sea of silver!

And such a fine place had actually been seized by Lord Jin. It was simply inconceivable. The population of Qingjiangpu alone exceeded that of the entire Xuzhou, and the place was a tangled web of entrenched powers. How could it have been taken in such a short time?

Some doubted, but far more were convinced. So what if the time was short? How long had it taken Lord Jin to go from nothing to where he was today? Had Lord Jin ever been short of accomplishing the unimaginable?

No one much cared how it was done, but everyone cared about one thing: a place as vast as Qingjiangpu, with so much business and so many situations, Lord Jin would surely need men to manage it. In the past, with places like Pizhou and Guide Prefecture, hadn't it always been us martial men of Xuzhou who went over to keep order? Now, with Qingjiangpu, it would surely be the same. This was a heaven-sent opportunity.

Put in a word early, and you might just get a good posting, with limitless benefits. Look at those who had gone out before, each one strutting around Pizhou and Guide Prefecture with their noses in the air, living like men above all others.

By custom, Lord Jin was always very generous to the locals of Xuzhou. And right now, when he needed men, if everyone went and offered their services, he surely wouldn't refuse. They'd definitely be given a place.

Some even laughed behind the backs of those who had joined up early. Better to come late than early. You went early and fought tooth and nail, and now the rest of us can get a good posting without having to risk our lives.

But to everyone's bewilderment, after Zhao Jin returned to the He Estate, he refused all outside visitors and issued strict orders that no one was to approach the Zhao Battalion's encampment. Moreover, he summoned all the mixed regiment units from across Xuzhou to the He Estate.

These actions poured a bucket of cold water over everyone's heads. Could it be that Lord Jin still had some major move planned, or that things in Qingjiangpu weren't going smoothly?

However, ever since Zhao Jin began his operations, news could no longer be kept secret. People from all sides could always ferret out the relevant information. Not to mention, men like Wang Dagang were originally from the Guard Forts. After confirming, everyone knew that Qingjiangpu had indeed been thoroughly taken.

So what exactly was Lord Jin up to now? But since Zhao Jin had spoken, no one dared disobey. Everyone found another way, though. The city of Xuzhou suddenly became feverishly busy. The Zhao and Chen households were thronged with visitors, with guests lining up several streets away, driving the elders of both families to distraction.

Meanwhile, on the drill grounds of the Zhao Battalion's encampment, the din was no less than at the gates of those city households. Battle cries rang out in a clamor, and dust rose to the sky.

"Brothers, hold firm! We all trained together. Us mixed regiment men are no worse than them. Don't let anyone look down on us!" The one shouting was Lin Zhi, the fifth son of the Lin family of Lin Family Enclosure. After the joint village defense was established, many of the young men from these areas had become part of the mixed regiments.

Lin Zhi had originally wanted to join the Zhao Battalion, even if it was just the schoolboy corps, but his family had stopped him, saying that Zhao Jin had ill intentions and wanted to swallow up all the families and territories. As a son of the Lin family, he had to remember that the Lin family came first.

As a result, every time Lin Zhi went home now, he complained to his family. He said that the nephew of Mine Master Liu was in the Zhao Battalion and was already a squad leader, looking like he had boundless prospects, while he himself was still stuck in this mixed regiment that was neither proper nor legitimate.

To their son's complaints, the Lin family had no reply. Who could have imagined the Zhao Battalion would develop so fast?

Lin Zhi always nursed a resentment, but this resentment had one benefit: it kept him from giving up on himself in the mixed regiment. Instead, it spurred him to train hard and wait for an opportunity. Many in the mixed regiments shared this mindset. They all wanted a chance to prove themselves, to show they were no worse than the Zhao Battalion's companies.

Unexpectedly, that chance came today. A few days ago, the Zhao Battalion had recalled the mixed regiments. After a brief rest and reorganization, they arranged for them to spar against the Zhao Battalion's companies.

Even though they were mixed regiments, they were no strangers to this kind of company-on-company sparring. Wearing protective gear of wooden boards and bamboo weave, wielding wooden poles with cotton-wrapped tips, they jabbed and struck at each other. This was one of the Zhao Battalion's routine training drills, though the Zhao Battalion's companies and the mixed regiment battalions had never competed before.

The young men of the mixed regiments always felt resentful. They all came from the same background. If anything, the mixed regiments might even have a slightly better background than the Zhao Battalion's household retainers. Why did everyone think so highly of the Zhao Battalion's retainers? It was just a difference in status.

Who was stronger and who was weaker could only be determined through a contest. But there had never been an opportunity before. Now, the opportunity had come!

The rules of the sparring were simple. Each side would field one hundred men, form them into a square formation, and then fight each other. Zhao Jin and the others would judge the winner.

Lord Jin himself had come to watch this contest. Once they knew this, the mixed regiments' morale soared even higher. They all wanted to put on a good show.

But once they were actually on the field, morale and spirit counted for nothing. The Zhao Battalion's company swiftly formed ranks, and then, under the company commander's direction, began to maneuver around the mixed regiment. Neither side was in a hurry to engage; they just faced off like that.

September is here, brothers have monthly tickets in hand again, cast them for Great Ming Wufu, thank you all