Chapter 646: Things Are Getting More and More Wrong

Yet no one would think Zhou Xuezhi was demeaning himself — this was an excellent way to draw closer to Zhao Jin. Zhou Xuezhi was nearing forty, more than twice Zhao Jin's age, while Zhao Jin was still not yet twenty. If he didn't have his own children get close to Zhao Jin now, by the time he grew old, it would all be too late.

And right now, Zhao Jin was rising step by step, earning more and more money, his prospects growing broader and broader. By the time he himself was old and his children grown, who knew what heights Zhao Jin would have reached. He had to follow along quickly and not get left behind.

When these words were spoken, Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing were both present. Hearing that Zhou Xuezhi wanted to send his daughter to Zhao Jin's parents' home to serve as a maidservant, a faint, ambiguous smile appeared on Wang Zhaojing's face.

Everyone understood perfectly well what Zhou Xuezhi was up to. Those close to the Zhao family all knew about how the Meng siblings had been taken in back then — Meng Zhiqi served as Zhao Jin's personal attendant — and they all knew that Zhao Jin's mother, He Cuihua, wanted to give Meng Ziqi to Zhao Jin.

It was hard to accept, spoken aloud — treating people like goods — yet whether the persons involved or outsiders, all were more than eager for it. It was Zhao Jin himself who couldn't be bothered with the extra trouble. Zhou Xuezhi thought the same way: if his daughter married out, she absolutely had to be the principal wife of a household. But if she could be by Zhao Jin's side — as long as she could be by his side — then things like formal status could be set aside for now.

Though Zhou Xuezhi was not in Xuzhou himself, he was extremely well-informed about every little stir and movement there. He even knew that Xu Zhenzhen herself was willing to accept Meng Ziqi. If he could send his own daughter down the same path, the Zhou family would have nothing to worry about in the future.

"Those two boys of yours don't much care for practicing martial arts, do they?" Zhao Jin had some impression of the two Zhou boys. As for the daughter, she was raised at home and he had only met her once.

Zhou Xuezhi came from a background as a scholar and aide, so his children had been exposed since childhood to brush, ink, paper, inkstone, account books, and the abacus. They had no particular fondness for brandishing blades or staves.

"At this age, they ought to be learning something. I must trouble you, Master Jin, to arrange a path forward for them," Zhou Xuezhi said with a smile.

"They're not going to study for the exams?" Zhao Jin asked reflexively. Beside him, Wang Zhaojing coughed once. Zhou Xuezhi shook his head very decisively and said, "I can teach them myself — they can read and write, and get through a few books. But here in Xuzhou, the most they could ever manage is to pass the county exam for a licentiate. Who still cares about the paltry benefits of a mere licentiate these days? Please, Master Jin, make the arrangements!"

As for passing the licentiate exam, the Zhao Camp could easily arrange that, and there was no local resistance to speak of. But the benefits conferred by the status and title of licentiate were utterly insignificant compared to what the Zhao Camp could provide — especially for someone like Zhou Xuezhi, who stood at the very core.

Seeing Zhou Xuezhi's resolute attitude, Zhao Jin pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "In that case, with the foundation you've given your two sons, they'd be well suited to work in the yamen offices. The Revenue Office, the Justice Office, the Works Office — pick whichever suits them from those, and let them go in and gain experience first."

Hearing this, Zhou Xuezhi grew somewhat anxious and hurriedly said, "Master Jin, I don't care a whit for the goings-on inside the yamen. What I want is for my two disappointing children to work at your side, Master Jin."

"I'm not telling them to become clerks. But right now, if they don't study martial arts and still want to learn practical affairs, the Six Offices are the place to go. Let them learn from those old fox clerks. In the yamen, those who entered through the proper examination path mostly deal in empty theory, and the private secretaries are their men. The ones who can teach the children real skills are precisely these clerks," Zhao Jin said, very matter-of-factly.

"Elder Brother, that private secretary is still sensible enough. If it's workable, just a word from us will do," Wang Zhaojing said with a smile. He himself had come up through the proper examination path, and Zhao Jin's words made him give a helpless, bitter laugh.

Zhou Xuezhi mulled it over, then nodded and said, "We'll do as you say, Master. Those two children have been spoiled. If you need to discipline them, Master, then by all means do so!"

The practical affairs within government yamens were all handled by the low-ranked clerks and runners, whose rules, methods, and experience were extremely well-developed. The examination officials, on the other hand, had toiled away at their studies in obscurity. Once appointed, they focused single-mindedly on rising higher — what inclination did they have for practical matters? Examination officials who could handle affairs and were willing to do so did exist, but they generally fell into two types. One was the scion of an established family, a scholar of outstanding natural talent, for whom the pressure of the exams was not so great, leaving him the spare energy to read miscellaneous books and understand the ways of the world. The other type was the official who had failed to achieve his ambitions or win promotion, who had stayed in one post for a very long time. Having endured so many years, he would have accumulated, to a greater or lesser degree, experience in the ins and outs and abuses of the system.

In a certain sense, the Prefect of Xuzhou, Tong Huaizu, fell into the latter category. He had been in Xuzhou for over a decade, and his understanding of the yamen's affairs was no less than that of an ordinary minor clerk. The trouble was, he was not of one heart with the Zhao Camp. To Zhao Jin and his people, Tong Huaizu was not even as reliable as his own private secretary. As for Sun Chuanting, whom Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing had met in the capital, he was an example of the first type.

"Then what about the matter of Axiang?" Zhou Xuezhi, for all his awe and respect toward Zhao Jin, was closer to him than others were, and had the standing to be a bit casual.

Hearing this, Zhao Jin gave a bitter laugh and said, "Old Zhou, have you lost your senses? That daughter of yours is barely past ten, isn't she? A fine young lady of a wealthy family, and instead of being one, you want her to go out and serve others? You know how things are at my parents' place — it's run like a household of only middling means. She'd suffer if she went there. Keep her at home and let her enjoy life!"

Though Zhou Xuezhi nodded with a smile, his expression was somewhat crestfallen. What did a little hardship matter? Suffer a few days of bitterness in childhood, and enjoy a lifetime of blessing later. Who knew, her two brothers might even benefit from her reflected glory.

But Zhao Jin's answer had left no room for maneuver, so Zhou Xuezhi could only wait for the next opportunity.

Zhou Xuezhi's idea of opening a shop specializing in northern goods at the Qingjiang Great Market was a good one, but freeing up a shop space was extremely difficult. At present, the Qingjiang Great Market had not a single vacant spot where a new shop could be opened. And since this was a joint business venture, it wouldn't do to rely on force and make another party give up their space.

The final solution turned out to be quite simple: another signboard was erected in front of the main Yunshan Trading House shop, densely covered with the prices of goods from the north. If customers wished to buy, they could enter the shop to inquire, then go to the warehouses outside the market to inspect the goods and take delivery. For this purpose, Yunshan Trading House even prepared carts and horses specifically, offering free transport for customers. The merchants who could enter the great market to ask about prices weren't about to begrudge this bit of travel expense — the key was that it was a mark of prestige.

Once these matters were wrapped up, Zhao Jin would have to leave Qingjiangpu for elsewhere. The most important places were Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu, but the refugee stockade, the Kong Family Estate, and places like Suzhou and Guide Prefecture also needed visiting. Only by showing his face regularly could he make the people there aware of the Zhao Camp's presence.

Before the order to depart could be given, someone from the Yu family came calling. In order to draw closer to Zhao Jin and the Zhao Camp, the Yu family had set up a shop in Qingjiangpu. Although it had earned them quite a bit, its main purpose was to keep an eye on Zhao Jin's side and look for any opportunity to curry favor and ingratiate themselves. Never mind major affairs like switching tribute grain transport to the sea — at the very least, they had to hold Clam Port firmly in their grasp.

The manager the Yu family had stationed here said that their family's Second Young Master had only been home a few days before heading north again. He had originally been heading for Xuzhou, but now that Zhao Jin had come here, it was the perfect chance for the two sides to meet. They just needed to wait a couple of days.

Anyone else would be one thing, but face had to be given to the Yu family's Second Young Master, Yu Zhiyuan. It was precisely because he was a scion of a great house with outrageous daring — anyone else, upon hearing that a shop was to be opened right outside the Embroidered Uniform Guard's office, would have long since been scared out of their wits. Yet this gentleman agreed without a second word. And it was precisely thanks to that wine shop that the Zhao Camp was no longer completely in the dark about the Embroidered Uniform Guard's movements.

They waited a day, but in the end, Lei Cai from Nanjing arrived first. Lei Cai had also been heading for Xuzhou and was resting temporarily at the Zhao Camp's outpost in Qingjiangpu. Hearing that Zhao Jin was there, he came straight over.

Lei Cai and Li Dajin were in charge of that wine shop in Nanjing. The two of them were absolutely critical and could not leave their post for a single moment. What was more, that wine shop had only just stabilized a few days ago. For Lei Cai to come hurrying back to Xuzhou, something urgent must have happened.

Everyone could figure that much out, and when they met, Lei Cai's grave expression made it all the more obvious.

"Leizi, you've worked hard. You've even got white hair," Zhao Jin said upon seeing him, not asking about any urgent matter but simply studying Lei Cai and sighing with emotion.

Being in Nanjing was like being stranded alone deep in enemy territory — all the more so since it was the office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and this very Embroidered Uniform Guard had been beaten and killed and dealt with by the Zhao Camp on quite a few occasions. There, he probably couldn't even sleep soundly. Worn out in mind and body, Lei Cai was younger than Zhao Jin and the others, yet now there was white hair at his temples.

"Working for our own cause, it's no hardship." Lei Cai wiped his eyes and said with a grin.

Only Zhao Jin and Wang Zhaojing were in the room. In fact, in all of Qingjiangpu, no more than five people knew that Lei Cai had appeared. This was all the Internal Guard's own covert business now — even Shi Manqiang and Zhou Xuezhi were unaware.

Though there was no intention of hiding it from them, with clandestine operations like this, the fewer people who knew, the better.

"Elder Brother, Third Brother, things over at the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard are getting more and more wrong," Lei Cai quickly got to the main subject.

"Wrong in what way? Here in Xuzhou and Qingjiangpu, and in all the places under our control, we haven't seen any sign of those agents stirring," Wang Zhaojing asked in a low voice. When discussing this matter, everyone instinctively lowered their voices.

"Third Brother is right. I can't put my finger on it either, and Old Li can't see it clearly. That's why I had to bring these matters here, for you brothers to look at and think over. I've kept this information in my head — I didn't trust anyone else to pass the message," Lei Cai explained.

Seeing that Zhao Jin showed no sign of interrupting, Lei Cai cleared his throat and, likewise, lowered his voice to speak, even though only the three of them were in the room.

"From the time I went to Nanjing, that Assistant Commander Ma Chonghao has hardly been in the office. He always seems to be going elsewhere. According to what the agents in the office say, normally even an Assistant Commander, let alone a Commander or Vice Commander, rarely leaves Nanjing. And this Ma Chonghao seems to always be coming north of the river..."

Zhao Jin was deep in thought. Wang Zhaojing looked at the expressions of the other two, then said, "We already know that those previous schemes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard were Ma Chonghao's plotting. But this Ma Chonghao has already smashed his head bloody against our side. Now that things have gone quiet, could it be that he's seen the difficulty and backed off? This Assistant Commander of the Nanjing Embroidered Uniform Guard has jurisdiction over the entire Southern Metropolitan Region, and even over Zhejiang. Coming north of the river is only to be expected."

"Facing a force like this, it's best to assume the worst. That way we can be prepared for anything," Zhao Jin said simply.

Seeking subscriptions, monthly tickets, and tip support. Thank you, everyone.