Chapter 623: How Could I Forget

But Ma Chonghao, the Nanjing Brocade Guard Assistant Commander, had indeed opened the window — though given the situation inside the room, the very act of him doing so was exceedingly strange.

The window opened and cold wind rushed in. Shi Ping'ao saw the view outside and found it a little odd. Normally, the best spots faced the river or canal, and men of Ma Chonghao and Lu Quanyou's standing would naturally be particular about such things, yet this location was clearly second-rate. What met the eye were shops and streets, and the clamor drifted right in.

"Commander Lu, do you know this place? This is Qingjiang Great Market. Right now, a single shopfront in this market rents for at least a hundred taels a year, and you can't even get one for any price. This one market alone brings in no less than thirty thousand in annual rent, and it's still set to rise. Do you know how much the restaurants, wine houses, gambling dens, and brothels around this market make every day? The wealthy households of Qingjiangpu and the traveling merchants coming north and south on the canal all pour their silver in here — that's another tens of thousands of taels a year, isn't it?" Ma Chonghao gestured as he spoke, his tone brimming with bold enthusiasm.

Wolf Mountain Vice General Lu Quanyou's eyes narrowed as well. Qingjiangpu truly was a treasure bowl. The annual income from these two places alone could be no less than two hundred thousand taels, and it was money earned just sitting on the land. Vice General Lu naturally wanted to prosper in Qingjiangpu; he had his own shopfronts here, but he had never imagined there was business this big. He wondered whose family it belonged to — just hearing about it made him envious. But why bring this up out of nowhere?

"Commander Lu, do you know there's a place like this in Xuzhou too? Merchants from Henan, Shandong, and Fengyang and Huai'an Prefectures all converge there. It may not be a mountain of gold and sea of silver like here, but it's still a treasure ground that attracts wealth and riches. How many tens of thousands of taels in income does that add up to?"

"Commander Ma, this…" Seeing Ma Chonghao ramble on with growing excitement, Lu Quanyou grew more and more bewildered and couldn't help but interrupt. Behind him, Shi Ping'ao frowned again, but his expression was thoughtful.

Ma Chonghao paid no attention to Lu Quanyou whatsoever and simply continued, "You must have drunk that Han Well Famous Liquor. That wine is sold everywhere under heaven — I've heard it's even been shipped beyond the frontier passes. One catty of that wine is one tael of silver! As for the salt business, I needn't even explain. Brother Lu, you surely know the dealings inside and exactly how much silver comes out of it. And that's not all — there are also ten thousand qing of fertile farmland. Tsk, tsk, just how much silver is all that?"

Vice General Lu frowned and turned his head. Shi Ping'ao stepped forward a few paces, but before he could speak, Ma Chonghao summed it all up: "If the owner of these businesses and properties intended to rebel, and before they could act, you and I seized them — what enormous merit that would be. Not to mention promotion and titles, the share from confiscating their property alone would be enough for ten generations of wealth without worry. Brother Lu, do you want it?"

Suppressing rebellion — that was the highest order of military merit. And the Qingjiangpu and Xuzhou he had just described, with all that liquor and illicit salt, all those details laid out — it was truly a heaven-storming amount of wealth. Lu Quanyou had been listening in confusion, but the moment he heard the question of whether he wanted it or not, he jolted and answered instinctively, "How could I not want it!"

As soon as he said it, Vice General Lu caught himself. He stared coldly at Ma Chonghao and said, "Commander Ma, after all that talk, you're referring to Zhao Jin's properties, aren't you?"

"Exactly!"

At this confirmation, Vice General Lu gave a cold laugh and stood up directly. He said mockingly, "Commander Ma, if your appetite is too big, be careful you don't choke. That's a tiger — tiger skin is a fine thing, but you need to see how many people that tiger has eaten. I've suffered a great loss before; my courage is small. I won't keep Commander Ma for tea. As for that matter with Li He's company, I have a token of appreciation here. If Commander Ma does me the honor, please accept it."

Lu Quanyou turned to leave, but Ma Chonghao shut the window. Without any anger, he said, "Brother Lu, I also lost over a dozen men in Xuzhou — it's just that outsiders don't know. Does Brother Lu think I don't know Zhao Jin is a tiger? I know it perfectly well. Since I'm laying my own weaknesses bare like this, can't Brother Lu be patient and hear me out?"

By now, his address had become very intimate, and he had spoken of his own setbacks. Hearing this, Lu Quanyou's steps did slow. He glanced at Shi Ping'ao by the door, and Shi Ping'ao said in a low voice, "No harm in listening." Vice General Lu snorted coldly again, turned around, and said in a deep voice, "Commander Ma, neither of us is young anymore. There are plenty of advantages under heaven. If we can eat what's right in front of us, that's already glory and wealth enough. Why gnaw on hard bones? Breaking your teeth is one thing, but why choke to death?"

"Brother Lu, Zhao Jin has several thousand followers, all fierce as wolves and tigers — I don't need to tell you that. And behind this Zhao Jin is a gang of crafty petty officials giving counsel, making him impossibly slippery. Who knows how many murders and exterminations he's committed, yet there's no way to pin him down by the king's law. The authorities can't do anything to him either; they can only watch helplessly as he runs rampant without restraint."

Lu Quanyou knew all this, of course, and his only reply was another cold snort. Ma Chonghao didn't mind, and simply went on, "This Zhao Jin leaves no handles, and the king's law can't seize him. That's partly because he's cunning, but there's another point — it shows that Zhao Jin has misgivings. He's afraid of truly being convicted of the capital crime of rebellion and sedition, ending up with the army massed against him, his body dead and his clan exterminated. His followers are even more so. Killing and arson, they'll do that, but rebellion? With just one small Xuzhou, how could he contend against the entire Great Ming? The moment rebellion and sedition are mentioned, those followers who were previously loyal to the death would likely scatter like smoke in an instant."

"How do you mean?" Vice General Lu was beginning to see the logic, and even Shi Ping'ao stepped forward a few paces.

"Everything Zhao Jin does is to keep people from saying he's rebelling, to avoid having the crime of sedition pinned on him. He dares to kill officials in secret, but he doesn't dare do it openly. The moment he does, that so-called Zhao Camp will instantly collapse. Countryside villains — making money together is fine, but who among them has the guts to rebel?"

Thinking about Zhao Jin's conduct — capturing Wolf Mountain troops, then haggling to send them back. Though he extorted a ransom, Wolf Mountain itself indeed dared not make a sound. On closer thought, Zhao Jin was also controlling the situation. Vice General Lu nodded slowly. This Ma Chonghao truly saw through things clearly. Put this way, Zhao Jin was not some lawless tiger after all; there were still ways to deal with him.

"Brother Lu, if we had a thousand crack cavalry and drove straight into the heart of Xuzhou, even if Zhao Jin had heaven-defying ability, he couldn't swallow up such a force without a sound. Then, with these thousand elite riders escorting official envoys proclaiming Zhao Jin's great crime of sedition, and declaring that mere followers would not be prosecuted — would his diehard followers still dare to resist?"

Lu Quanyou rubbed his chin and fell into deep thought. Shi Ping'ao coughed, and seeing Vice General Lu nod, he then spoke: "Commander Ma's insight is brilliant. A thousand crack cavalry can rampage anywhere in the Southern Metropolitan Region. Even destroying that Zhao Camp wouldn't be difficult. Use that deterrence to keep Zhao Jin from daring to move in secret, then publicly announce his great crime of rebellion. Seeing those thousand elite riders, Zhao's followers will already be chilled to the heart. Hearing this crime of sedition and thinking of the consequences, they will inevitably scatter like stars and vanish without a trace. Then, without any great clash of arms, we can seize that arch-criminal Zhao Jin. This plan is truly ingenious."

Hearing his own strategist's assessment, and reconsidering the whole chain of cause and effect, Lu Quanyou's expression eased. He looked at Ma Chonghao with a bit more of a smile and said, "Brother Ma, your plan is good, but how do we scrape together a thousand crack cavalry? I can field fewer than five hundred worth anything. This…"

Since the plan was feasible, it was time to discuss details. And now, thinking back to the mountain of gold and sea of silver Ma Chonghao had described at the start, he couldn't help but be moved. It was simply too tempting.

Ma Chonghao, the Nanjing Brocade Guard Assistant Commander, smiled and counted off on his fingers as he spoke: "Brother Lu's force, my force, Xuzhou Vice Commander Zhou's force, another force scraped together from Nanjing, and perhaps one from Fengyang — a thousand crack troops are very easy to assemble."

Vice Commander Zhou's side went without saying. The Nanjing Brocade Guard themselves had a mounted company they could field. And those old noble houses in Nanjing, descended from the founding of the dynasty and the Jingnan Campaign, who still took turns holding the critical post of Nanjing Garrison Commander — each had some household troops and family guards. Duke of Wei, the Xu family, was said to have eight hundred family guards, which was especially formidable. As for Fengyang, that would be the forces of the Central Capital Garrison Eunuch.

"That many people?" Wolf Mountain Vice General Lu Quanyou's brow furrowed. He naturally knew all the powers in the Southern Metropolitan Region. The way Ma Chonghao put it, he already knew which families were involved.

Seeing Lu Quanyou's expression, Ma Chonghao smiled and said leisurely, "A heaven-storming fortune — did Brother Lu think we brothers could swallow it ourselves? A few more people makes things easier before and after. Though we brothers count for something, in this Southern Metropolitan Region, there are plenty bigger than us. A fortune that vast — just getting a share is enough for several lifetimes of inexhaustible wealth."

Vice General Lu nodded slowly. The things connected to Zhao Jin were too many. Swallowing it all would be inviting disaster. Just getting a share was already extraordinary.

"Brother Lu, we're lucky it's in the Southern Metropolitan Region. If this were in the capital, Zhao Jin would have long since been devoured by the great powers, bones and all — it would never have come down to us brothers. This is luck!"

Wolf Mountain Vice General Lu Quanyou chuckled a few times. He pondered in silence for a moment, then whispered back and forth with Shi Ping'ao behind him. Ma Chonghao had talked himself hoarse and dry-mouthed, but now he was in no hurry. He sat there drinking tea and waiting.

"When do we move?"

"No rush, no rush. We must investigate slowly, investigate thoroughly, nail down every single matter. Then strike straight at the heart, proclaim his crimes in public, leave him nowhere to hide, and make even his followers feel there's no room for quibbling or defiance. One strike, certain kill!" Ma Chonghao's voice turned cold as he spoke, enunciating every word.

Lu Quanyou slowly shook his head, took a sip of tea, and said, "Commander Ma, coming to the Southern Metropolitan Region is truly a waste of your talent. Only a place like the capital would let you fully spread your wings!"

Hearing this, Ma Chonghao let out a long breath and answered with a mere smile, "Individual ability is the lesser way; in the end, it all depends on the greater momentum. Zhao Jin is fierce and vicious, but the greater momentum belongs to the Great Ming, so he is doomed to defeat and death. I may have a little ability, but the Zheng family's momentum has already passed…"

Everywhere in the city of Nanjing was prime ground. As long as one was diligent and hardworking, even carrying a shoulder pole could earn a family's food and clothing. In this Jiangnan region of Yingtian Prefecture, gentry and commoners alike loved to do business and prosper within the city.

It's the last day of September, and it's double monthly tickets again. Everyone should cast whatever votes you have — otherwise they'll go to waste after tonight. I should be on the train right now, and I don't know how much I'll be able to write…