Chapter 622: A Secret Meeting at Qingjiangpu

Wang Ziyang dared to do this precisely because of Zhao Jin's backing. When he shipped liquor in from Xuzhou, how could the merchants of Shanxi and Henan not know? Countless people went to Xuzhou to sound things out and make connections, and every single one was turned away at the door by the Zhao Camp. Apart from Cloud Mountain Firm's own local retail in Henan, all other bulk trade was exclusively handled by Wang Ziyang. With that kind of support, Wang Ziyang was naturally at ease.

In the past, with Wang Ziyang's status and standing, he was not qualified to get in touch with that wealthy merchant. That wealthy merchant was said to have the backing of a prince of the Tumed Khan, or perhaps the Khan himself. But now, all the nobles wanted to drink a few cups of Han Well Famous Liquor during the winter days, and presumably the Khan's side was no different. This wealthy merchant had taken the initiative to send lavish gifts, demanding that he be guaranteed a fixed quantity of all future shipments of Han Well Famous Liquor.

These several dozen child slaves were extremely valuable, yet they had been sent over by that wealthy merchant. This greatly enhanced Wang Ziyang's prestige. In the eyes of others, it would also make many things far more convenient for Wang Ziyang going forward.

Wang Ziyang knew whom he owed all of this to, so he would never let slip any chance to curry favor with Zhao Jin. To have missed such a perfect opportunity as the child's hundred-day celebration — no wonder he was beating his chest and stamping his feet in regret.

Zhao Jin accepted these forty children. The ten girls were handed over to Xu Zhenzhen to manage, while the boys were placed into the Cadet Company. These children had no prior ties to anyone; once trained, they would certainly be loyal.

Once the hundred-day celebration was over, the companions around Zhao Jin immediately scattered in all directions. By now, each person had their own area of responsibility; gathering together every day as they had in the past was no longer possible.

In the short term, Zhao Jin would not be going back to Qingjiangpu. He gathered the company commanders and squad commanders in Xuzhou for training. The training subjects were slightly different from before — this time, they drilled with the long halberd.

The Cadet Company and the local militia coordinated to sweep six estates beyond the Xuzhou border. The Smelling Incense Sect made no fierce response, even voluntarily withdrawing from several estates. The two sides once again settled back into their tacit understanding.

According to Zheng Quan, the Smelling Incense Sect would now be making preparations everywhere. Once that additional Liao levy was imposed and the common people everywhere began to suffer, that would be the perfect moment for the Smelling Incense Sect to recruit followers and stir up trouble.

The weather gradually turned cold, and the Grand Canal was no longer so busy. Everyone was hoping to catch a breather, and this was especially true at Qingjiangpu. The Xuzhou Zhao Camp had entered at the start of the year, and the several bouts of bloody turmoil had left everyone in a state of fearful trepidation. By now, people's hearts had settled. They acknowledged Zhao Jin's control over the territory and had also seen the benefits of his rule. Though the river was so quiet, the Qingjiang Great Market bustled with extraordinary activity — who knew how many people were making their fortunes there.

The restaurants, wine shops, gambling dens, and brothels around the great market were also doing booming business. With all these clustered together, not only were the merchants and customers of the great market happy to patronize them, but even the wealthy and noble figures of Qingjiangpu were willing to come. Everyone wanted to join in the excitement.

The hierarchy among these pleasure quarters was simple to determine: whoever was closest to the canal, whoever could lean out over the river and catch the breeze, was the most upscale.

"Qingjiang Tower" was much like Linjiang Pavilion — both were venues reserved for wealthy merchants to gather and converse at leisure, and they were the finest establishments in the area. Moreover, Qingjiang Tower was strictly a teahouse. Here, the price of a single cup of plain tea already matched the cost of a banquet at a small restaurant, so there were few patrons. But that was exactly what "Qingjiang Tower" wanted; the very point was this peace and quiet.

The serving boys and attendants in this teahouse were all shrewd, perceptive sorts — neither servile nor overbearing in manner, never fawning over the guests, always maintaining a distance that put people at ease.

"My master has an appointment with Squire Lü," a middle-aged scholar said in a deep voice at the teahouse entrance. Behind him stood a big man, forty or fifty years of age, dressed in finery.

The moment the greeter at the door heard that name, he smiled, bowed, and extended a hand to invite them in, saying that Master Lü had long been waiting. This greeter was a man of broad experience with a sharp eye; a single glance was enough for him to gauge a person's status. He found it inwardly strange. The scholar who spoke ought to have been a private secretary or a house guest of some sort, yet his manner of speech and bearing made him seem accustomed to giving orders, much like a gentleman from a government office. As for the big man behind him, though dressed in finery, he carried a hint of a harsh, lethal air — he should have been someone who had trained in martial arts and seen blood. If one said he was a pirate chief or a bandit leader, his bearing was too upright. He actually bore a strong resemblance to the Commandant of Shanyang.

As he led the way forward, his mind continued to churn with wild speculation. That Master Lü waiting in the room also looked like someone who had come from an official background, yet he also had a certain roguish air of the streets about him. It was truly peculiar.

The greeter shook his head slightly. All day today, from morning until now, there had been a number of inexplicably tough, strapping men coming and going. The tips and gratuities in silver were generous enough, but it was all just too strange. Moreover, these people's accents were not from Qingjiangpu, and their faces were all unfamiliar — no telling where they had come from. He had initially guessed they might be some of those big shots from the Xuzhou Zhao Camp, but a closer look said otherwise. They were all older, not like that Zhao Camp crowd, who were all young fellows.

The second floor of Qingjiang Tower was lined with private rooms. At this hour, there was hardly anyone around. One could see a man in his early forties standing outside one of the doors. The greeter led the two men over. The man outside clasped his fist in a respectful salute, quite courteous to the two arrivals, and simply said, "My master has been waiting for some time."

Once the guests had been shown inside, the man outside the door gave a stern warning: "We've booked all the surrounding private rooms. Do not seat any other guests here. And without my call, do not bring any tea up. Understood?"

The greeter agreed with a smile. He understood that these men wanted a private discussion. Qingjiang Tower had seen such scenes plenty of times and naturally knew how to handle it. He had no desire to linger nearby either. These men who had arrived were fairly polite and amiable, but there was always something unsettling about them. Better to keep one's distance.

The middle-aged scholar opened the door, glanced inside, then stepped aside to let the big man behind him enter. He followed in and closed the door.

Inside the room, a middle-aged man was already seated — presumably the "Master Lü" the greeter had mentioned. Seeing his guests enter, he rose with a smile and said, "I have long heard of General Lu's great name. Meeting you today for the first time, my respects!"

The big man who had come with the middle-aged scholar gave a cold snort, returned the salute with clasped hands, and said in a flat, indifferent tone: "I dare not accept such courtesy from Official Ma. Lu has served the nation loyally. I never imagined I would be targeted by the Brocade Guard's agents, nor that I would be summoned directly from Wolf Mountain for a meeting. My heart is filled with fear!"

Tea and pastries were laid out on the table. The middle-aged scholar stepped forward to brew and arrange the tea. Official Ma and General Lu each took their seats. Official Ma said with a smile, "This gentleman, I presume, is Mister Shi. I have long admired your name as well!"

"I dare not claim such honor, I dare not," the scholar preparing the tea replied politely. When he was done, he went and stood behind General Lu.

General Lu slapped a hand on the table and said in a gruff voice, "Official Ma, we both have our respective duties to attend to. All this idle chatter is pointless. This general has had the misfortune of having his weakness seized by you, Official Ma. Since we're here to talk, please name your price. Let's follow the rules, and everything will be easy between us. But if there's anything else, I'm sure you know, Official Ma — this old man did not earn his position as Vice General through military merit!"

"Did not earn it through military merit" — that meant he had certainly relied on backing. There was only one Vice General in the Southern Metropolitan Region, and that was the Wolf Mountain Vice General, a rank already equivalent to a Provincial Commander-in-Chief elsewhere. To raise a man to such a position, the patron had to be one of the topmost grandees in the outer court or the inner palace.

Vice General Lu spoke with such bluntness, yet that Official Ma remained perfectly amiable. Smiling, he said, "How could I not know of Eunuch Wang — the great eunuch destined to become the Inner Chancellor. During my service in the capital with the Brocade-Clad Imperial Guard, I never had the fortune to meet him even once. A true regret."

At this point, Official Ma shifted his tone and said with a smile, "I suspect General Lu has misunderstood. If I, Ma Chonghao, merely wanted to line my pockets, I could send men around Jiangnan and easily bring in several thousand, even ten thousand taels of silver. Your side, General Lu, wouldn't amount to more than that figure either. And afterward, who knows how many grandees and enemies from north and south I would provoke? The patron I relied on has already fallen. If I still acted like that, wouldn't I just be courting death?"

Vice General Lu's brow furrowed. He glanced back at Shi Ping'ao, who also wore a puzzled expression. Before they could finish their silent exchange, the Nanjing Brocade Guard Assistant Commander-in-Chief, Ma Chonghao, rapped a knuckle on the table and said with a smile, "General Lu need not overthink it. If I hadn't mentioned Company Commander Li and that battalion, would you, General Lu, have been willing to come here?"

At these words, Wolf Mountain Vice General Lu Quanyou gave another cold snort. That day, a secret letter had suddenly been delivered to him from the Nanjing Brocade Guard, detailing how a thousand or so of his own troops had gone to back the Feng family, only to suffer a crushing defeat out in the grassy marshlands. The letter then invited Vice General Lu to come discuss matters at a certain place in Qingjiangpu.

With his weakness in someone else's hands and a meeting proposed — and by a Brocade Guard Assistant Commander-in-Chief, no less — Lu Quanyou had no choice but to come. Still, he had made plenty of preparations. For instance, he had stationed his personal guards all around. If the Brocade Guard tried to make a move, then they would tear off all pretense and fight it out. He had also made arrangements in both Nanjing and the capital. If it truly came to a legal battle, the Lu family had its roots and connections in both places. Consort Zheng's faction had already fallen. What could a down-and-out exile like you, Ma Chonghao, possibly stir up?

Even so, Lu Quanyou had prepared a large sum of silver. The Brocade Guard agents had not openly struck yet only because they were after money. If he could buy peace with coin, there was no need for a bloody clash or a complete break.

But after arriving here, Vice General Lu found things were not quite as he had imagined. This Ma Chonghao was nothing like the domineering, overbearing man the rumors made him out to be. On the contrary, he was exceedingly polite. Lu's own words had been so aggressive, yet the other party showed no sign of pushing back, instead responding with soft, ingratiating courtesy.

Lu Quanyou took a sip of tea and said nothing. After a moment of silence, he softened his tone and asked, "Official Ma, speak your mind. Since I am here, let's not play any cryptic games."

Ma Chonghao smiled and glanced at Shi Ping'ao, who stood behind Vice General Lu. Lu Quanyou understood the meaning and simply said in a deep voice, "He is one of my own. Mister Shi will be advising me on whatever comes next."

Shi Ping'ao remained silent. Ma Chonghao nodded, then rose from his seat. He had a slight limp, but his movements were quite nimble. He did not walk toward Lu Quanyou, but toward the window. The weather was cold, and the teahouse windows were all tightly shut.

Seeing Ma Chonghao's action, Lu Quanyou shoved the table. His chair slid backward, and his hand immediately went to his waist. Who knew what the man intended by opening the window? If there was any foul play, he would have no choice but to fight. Vice General Lu might not have any military merit, but he was still a scion of a hereditary military household. He had trained in archery, horsemanship, saber, and spear since childhood, and he had not let those skills lapse even now.

The last day of the month — monthly tickets will go to waste if not used. Thanks to "Goodbye Someone, Book Friend 1287208672, Yuan Heng Li Zhen, Twilight Cry, 123*, User Wandering the World's End" for your tips. Thank you, everyone. While others are on holiday for the National Day break, I'm busy nonstop.